The Arrangement
by blackkisbackk
Summary: Rose Weasley needs to prove to her family that she can live her life her own way. In order to prove it, she makes a deal with the devil - in the form of Scorpius Malfoy. Romance/Humor/Drama and sexual content.
1. Stupid War

**Chapter 1: Stupid War**

_My Dear Daughter,_

_I hope everything is going well at school, and I hope you're keeping up with your studies and staying out of trouble. Make sure you're looking after your brother and keeping him out of trouble, too._

_Yesterday your dad told me that he heard around the Ministry that you've been seen hanging around with Scorpius Malfoy. I won't tell you who you should be spending time with, of course, but please be careful. I've told you about his family._

_Anyway, I love you very much and I hope to hear from you soon._

_-Mother_

Rose Weasley rolled her eyes and shoved the letter from her mother into her schoolbag before she sat down in Charms class. Yes, Rose knew the stories all too well. Her uncle, Harry Potter, had defeated Lord Voldemort, the darkest wizard of all time. The Malfoys had been on the side of that dark wizard while her parents, Ron and Hermione Weasley, fought alongside Uncle Harry. Rose was proud of her history—though not quite as proud as her brother, Hugo—but she was just tired of not being able to live her own life out of the shadow of her family. This is not to say that Rose did not love her family very deeply. Now in her sixth year at Hogwarts, Rose was very close with her brother and her cousins, especially her cousin Albus, who she had been best friends with since they were kids. Her older cousin James was in his seventh year at Hogwarts and he was always looking out for his younger siblings and cousins, and Rose did appreciate it. She thought it was sweet the way he stuck up for her, but sometimes she wanted to live how she chose to live.

Rose brushed a piece of her shoulder length, curly strawberry blonde hair out of her face as she waited for class to begin. She was early as usual, but she didn't mind. She enjoyed the time to think to herself, and her mind was reeling with thoughts of her mother's letter. It's not as if she was friends with Scorpius. Quite the contrary; he was a pompous jerk who had an undue sense of entitlement, not to mention a knack for using women as well as always picking on Rose, Hugo, and her cousins because of his rivalry with her cousin James. Each was the captain of his respective Quidditch team, and their rivalry had begun the day they each joined their teams. Scorpius particularly loved to make fun of Rose because he knew how much it bugged her especially. Scorpius took every opportunity to knock books out of Rose's hands and call her names, things James saw fit to defend, verbally and physically.

After only another minute, Rose was joined by her cousin and best friend, Albus Potter, who had just come from lunch.

"Hey, baby girl," Albus said as he sat down next to Rose and planted a small kiss on her cheek. Rose smiled and pushed Albus away playfully. "You look mad," Albus said conversationally.

Rose shrugged. "I'm fine," she said. "My mum—"

Rose was cut off as Professor Flitwick scurried into the room and clapped his hands, signaling the start to class. They spent the class working on Protean Charms, and after class, Rose said a quick goodbye to Albus as he headed off to meet his current Hufflepuff girlfriend, Poppy McDonahue.

As she was climbing the staircase toward Gryffindor tower, Rose felt a strong hand grip her upper arm and turn her around gently but firmly. Rose was about to snap at whoever had grabbed her when she turned and recognized the face before her.

"James, what are you playing at?" Rose said, brow creasing.

Her cousin smiled briefly before his face turned serious. "I didn't mean to startle you," James said quickly. "We need to talk." Without warning, the staircase they were standing on changed and pointed them in the opposite direction that Rose had intended to go.

"Damn it, James, now I have to go all the way around," Rose said as she ascended the staircase the rest of the way and began walking around the castle toward Gryffindor tower. James jogged up next to her and started walking beside her toward her destination.

"I got a letter from my dad today," James began.

"That's nice," Rose said with a smile. "How are Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny?" Rose asked.

"They're fine," James snapped. Rose looked slightly taken aback by his tone and gave him a confused look. Before she could say anything, he continued. "Look, dad told me that you've been hanging out with Scorpius Malfoy—"

"What—?"

"You need to watch yourself, Rose," James said shaking his head. "The Malfoys are no good, even now. I know the war's over—"

"Don't even start on that stupid war," Rose said, raising her hand and walking ahead of James.

James caught up with her, grabbed her arm and spun her around. "Stupid war?" James's voice was rising with every word. "My dad saved the wizarding world in that _'stupid war.'_ Your parents and my parents risked their lives in that 'stupid war.'" Rose was trying to wriggle her arm out of James grip, but that only caused him to clutch her arm tighter. "Scorpius's great aunt tortured and almost killed your mum. She killed my dad's godfather. My dad lost almost everything in that war—some of his closest friends and family… his parents. Your dad lost a brother." James's face was red with anger and Rose was standing in front of him with her eyes closed. Her arm was still held tightly in his grip. "I know it may not seem important to you, but that war was everything, and the Malfoys haven't changed."

With a heavy sigh, Rose opened her eyes and spoke. "Okay…" she began slowly. "I know the war was important, but you don't know that they haven't changed, first of all. Second of all," she continued quickly when it looked like James wanted to interrupt. "I'm not _friends_ with Scorpius. We just happened to be at the same party and at some point in the night we ended up standing around in the same group of people. I never even talked to him. Even if I had," she pressed on, "no one in this family is going to tell me who I can and cannot be around. I know a lot has happened between our family and the Malfoys, and I understand what it all means, but no one is going to control me. I am my own woman. I'm seventeen years old—I'm of age—I can make my own decisions, and I can take care of myself."

"I don't want to see you with Scorpius," James said with a growl.

"Did you just hear anything I said?" Rose said loudly.

"Rose—"

"UGH!" Rose finally pulled herself from James's grip and ran the rest of the way to Gryffindor tower. She was brimming with anger—anger at James and at her mother and at her uncle. She was tired of the expectations and the rules and everything. No one was going to tell her how to lead her life.

When she finally got into the common room, she spotted her brother Hugo sitting by himself looking at a Quidditch magazine. She walked over to him and patted him on the head, hoping to get some comfort from his presence.

"Hey, sis," Hugo said with a smile. Now in his fourth year at Hogwarts, Hugo was a red-headed, gangly boy who greatly resembled their father. He had their mother's soft brown eyes, but other than that, Hugo was all Weasley. Before Rose could say anything in response to Hugo, he said, "We need to talk about something…"

Rose's eyes widened and her jaw dropped. She let out a small roar right before she said, "Don't tell me that mum owled you," she said through clenched teeth.

"She's just concerned—"

"Stop!" Rose stood so quickly from her chair that it toppled over. She bent to pick it up as she said, "Everyone just stop! I'm not friends with Scorpius, and even if I was, it's no one's business! Honestly!" She grabbed her bag and turned on her heel before she left the common room the way she came in. Her eyes were so blinded with rage that she did not see the figure in front of her as she came storming through the portrait hole. She almost fell back when she ran into the person just outside the entrance to Gryffindor tower.

"Hey, baby girl—"

"If you say ONE THING about Scorpius Malfoy, I swear on my life, Albus Severus Potter, I will kill you!" The moment she had realized that it was Albus, she pointed her wand directly at his chest and pushed him up against a wall near them.

With his hands in the air as a sign of surrender, he said, "I have no idea what you're talking about…"

Rose kept her wand pointed at his chest for only a moment more before sighing and lowering her wand. "Oh," was all she said. She turned to walk away, but Albus went after her.

"You just threatened to kill me, and now you're going to walk away like nothing happened?" he said once he caught up with her. "What is going on? Is this about earlier?"

Rose shook her head angrily as she continued to walk along. "I'm sorry, Al," she said. "I just got this letter from my mum today basically telling me to stay away from Scorpius Malfoy, and then I got lectured by James and almost lectured by Hugo. It's just annoying," she said as she threw her hands up in the air in frustration. "I'm not even friends with him—he's a jerk—but even if I was, that's my choice, right? It was just that stupid party last weekend…"

"I was at that party," Albus said.

"Right!" Rose yelled. "Are you getting angry letters from your parents? Of course not! It's so unfair."

"They're just worried about you," Albus offered.

"Don't defend them," Rose gave him a death glare.

"Right, sorry. Awful gits," he added. Rose smiled and put her arm around Albus's waist as he put his arm around her shoulders. "But really, don't worry about it," he said. "They really do just want the best for us."

"I know," Rose said. "I just wish I could show them that they can't control me anymore—"

"I know."

"That I'm my own woman and I can do what I very well please."

"Yeah. They'll understand eventually."

"That no matter what they say, I'll live my life the way I see fit."

"You're not even listening to me, are you?"

"That sometimes they just don't have a say…"

"Rose, I don't like this… You have that look in your eye…"

"Slytherins have Quidditch practice right now, right?" Rose asked. Albus was the Gryffindor Seeker.

"Yeah, why?"

"I have to go, Al," Rose said quickly. Without another word, she darted down the stairs and out of sight.


	2. Funny Business

**Chapter 2: Funny Business**

Scorpius Malfoy was alone in the Quidditch changing room after a particularly grueling practice. While warming weather meant relaxation and happiness for most students at Hogwarts, for Quidditch players, it meant more practices and more stress due to the approaching Quidditch final. Currently, Ravenclaw was out of the running for the finals, and Gryffindor had been ensured a spot. It was Slytherin and Hufflepuff who had to battle for the final spot in just a few weeks time. Scorpius was lacing up his trainers after bidding farewell to the rest of the members of his team, and he couldn't wait to get back to his dormitory and relax.

"Malfoy!"

At the sound of an out of breath voice shouting his name, Scorpius nearly jumped out of his skin. He looked around angrily, and the anger on his face quickly turned into a sneer when he realized who had tried to get his attention.

"Weasley?" Scorpius said silkily.

"I need to talk to you," Rose Weasley said eagerly. She smirked at the taken aback look on Scorpius's face.

"What could you possibly want to talk to me about?" Scorpius said as he bent over and finished tying up his shoe. He started grabbing his things and putting them into his Quidditch bag, not looking at Rose.

"I… Well, I have a proposition for you," she said slowly.

Scorpius looked at her and tilted his head. "Okay…?"

"My family has gone crazy—" Scorpius scoffed. Rose ignored him and continued. "And I need to do something to prove to them that I'm my own person and that I am capable of making my own choices. I need to show them that they can't control me anymore—"

"Look, Weasley," Scorpius interjected. "As much I love hearing about your family troubles—"

"I want you to be my boyfriend," she said quickly.

Scorpius blanched. "WHAT?" he nearly shouted.

"Not—Not, like, for real, just…" Rose had gone over everything she wanted to do and say in her head, but now that she was saying it out loud, she realized how ridiculous it sounded. She barely knew Scorpius, and their families still hated each other after all these years. But as soon as the idea had come into her head about how she could get back at her parents, she had been convinced that it was golden. "It would only be for show; just to prove to my family that I can and will do what I want. I just need you to pretend to be my boyfriend long enough for my parents and the rest of my family to acknowledge that I do what I very well please." Before Scorpius could say anything, Rose went on, speaking very quickly. "Since my brother and cousins go here, I would need it to be at least somewhat convincing so my parents don't think I'm just doing this to make them mad—"

"But that is why you're doing it," Scorpius finally said.

"Well… Yes…" Rose was staring at her hands. "But I don't want them to _think_ that. There… There would be compensation," Rose finished.

"Okay," Scorpius started slowly. He was staring at Rose intently trying to gauge whether or not this was some trick that she and her cousin James were trying to play on him. "Let me just see if we're on the same page here… You want to pay me to pretend to be your boyfriend so that you can convince your parents that they don't have control over you… And you need me to make it convincing enough that your brother and cousins believe it, too, because you don't want your parents to think you're just trying to get back at them… even though that's exactly what you're doing?"

"Yes," Rose said simply.

"Absolutely not," Scorpius said, shaking his head. Rose tried to protest, but Scorpius went on. "You know, I knew the Weasleys and the Potters were crazy, but this is unbelievable. This is insane. I'm not going to risk my social life to pretend to be your boyfriend—"

"I'll pay you and you can still date other people—"

"How would it be convincing if I'm still with other girls?" Scorpius asked with an incredulous look on his face.

"Just be discrete," Rose said as if it was the most obvious thing anyone had ever asked her. "Don't act like you haven't played any girls before, Malfoy. No one would be that surprised. I just… I really need you to do this for me. I'll pay you five galleons a week if you stay with me until the end of term."

"That's three months!" Scorpius shouted.

"It has to be long enough to make an impact!" Rose shouted back. Neither of them said anything for a moment. Scorpius was thinking a mile a minute. Rose was very attractive, Scorpius had to admit. Her big brown eyes, strawberry blonde hair fit for grabbing, and full lips practically made for kissing would not make it difficult for Scorpius to pretend that he was into her. She was going to pay him, not that he really needed the money, but it was a nice bonus. Not to mention that it would be a really good way to get under James Potter's skin…

"Okay, I'll do it," he said after his final thought. Scorpius couldn't wait to see the look on James's face when Scorpius would walk down the corridors of Hogwarts hand in hand with Rose.

"What?" Rose had wide eyes. "You—you will?"

"Yes, Weasley," Scorpius said exasperatedly. "Five galleons per week, no exceptions," Scorpius said as he grabbed his bag and headed out of the changing room with Rose at his heels. When they walked out onto the pitch and toward the castle, Scorpius asked, "So, what do I have to do?"

"Well, we can't just start immediately," Rose was looking at her feet and walking quickly to keep up with Scorpius's long strides. Scorpius could tell that she had been going over the details in her head for a while. "You have to at least pretend to… woo me," she said with a shrug. "Then, once we start for real, just normal things, you know? We need to be seen together in public fairly often—holding hands in the hallways, going to meals and parties and Hogsmeade and other things together." Rose stopped walking and grabbed Scorpius's arm to stop him and make him face her right before she placed her hands on her hips. "Under no circumstances will you ever try to touch me inappropriately or try to kiss me or anything like that."

"Calm down, Weasley," Scorpius rolled his eyes and started walking again. "Trust me, there won't be any funny business."

Rose huffed and walked on. "You can't tell anyone about this arrangement, Malfoy. Ever. I'll pay you ten galleons for the first two weeks, and I'll give you the rest in one lump sum at the end of the term—"

"Whoa," Scorpius held up a hand and stopped walking. "You didn't say anything about this."

Rose stopped and faced him. "I just need to make sure that you're going to stick to the rules, and if you don't, then I'm not going to pay you." Rose was speaking as if she was talking to a five year old. Scorpius just sighed and nodded in consent with an eye roll. They both started walking again. "Well," she said. "I think I said everything I needed to say. Any questions?"

"I think it's clear," Scorpius said. "I'm sure you'll make up more rules as we go along." Rose made a face and Scorpius smiled. "This should be fun."


	3. My End of the Bargain

_Thanks for the comments so far. They give me so much motivation. For__**OH**__– Rose is not blonde, per se, it is a light reddish/dirty blonde color in my head (traits from both of her parents). For__**Romantic-JC**__– to me, Rose does not want their public displays of affection to go too far for both of their sakes. Kissing makes it too real. She wants to keep it limited to hand-holding, arms around each other, etc. They need to look like a couple without things getting too complicated, although they inevitably will. I hope that clears that up!_

_This is a short but meaningful chapter. Enjoy!_

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><p><strong>Chapter 3: My End of the Bargain<strong>

Three nights later, Rose was sitting at a table in the library across from her cousin Albus as they worked on homework together. It hadn't been long since she had talked to Scorpius and they had made their arrangement, but he had not made any move. Rose was worried that he had changed his mind, but she told herself she would give it one more day until she approached him again. Of course, she had noticed him looking at her across the Great Hall, but she dismissed it as coincidence. Perhaps he was just contemplating his first move, she had thought to herself on a few occasions. She didn't think he would take it that seriously, but she did hope that he would not ruin her plan at the very least. She needed desperately to prove to her family that they could not tell her how to live her life.

Albus glanced up and did a small double take, eyes concentrated on a spot behind Rose.

"What do you want, Malfoy?" Albus asked. Rose whipped around and saw Scorpius Malfoy standing behind her holding a small box with a note attached to it.

"I just wanted to give this to Rose," Scorpius said with a charming smile. He handed Rose the package and brushed his hand down her face, causing her to shiver slightly, before sauntering away slowly. Albus looked worried, and Rose looked confused as she opened the note.

_I saw this and thought of you.  
><em>_-S_

Rose felt a small swoop in her stomach and couldn't contain a smile when she opened the box. She didn't know if she was giddy at the prospect of her plan finally being put into motion or the thought of what this small gift could possibly be, but either way, she felt a great deal of anticipation as she opened the small box. Albus was trying to see inside as she opened it after he looked at the note that she had thrown onto the table. Rose gasped when she opened the box. Inside was a single, very lush rose petal. It looked as if it had been charmed to emit a glow and have a constant watered look. Rose touched it delicately as Albus came around the table to look over her shoulder inside the box.

"Rose—"

"I have to go, Al," Rose said quietly. As she was packing up her things, Albus was trying to talk to her.

"What is going on, Rose?" Albus asked her. "Why is Malfoy giving you gifts? Where are you going?"

"'I don't know' is the answer to all of those questions," Rose finally said as she slung her bag across her body. She left the library quickly, leaving an open-mouthed Albus in her wake.

When Rose exited the library, she made to head for Slytherin House when she heard a "hey" from behind her. She whipped around and saw Scorpius leaning against the wall next to the entrance to the library. Rose gasped and jumped slightly when she heard Scorpius, as she had not expected him to be standing there.

"Thanks," she started. "For this." She held up the box briefly to show what she was talking about.

"It's not a big deal," Scorpius said with a shrug. "Just holding up my end of the bargain." She nodded in understanding. For a moment, in the presence of the romantic gesture Scorpius had just made, Rose had temporarily forgotten that this really was nothing more than an arrangement. "I'm just waiting for you to hold up your end," Scorpius said, taking a step closer to her.

Rose ignored the crazed butterflies in her stomach when he came nearer to her. She reached inside her bag and pulled out a small pouch. "Ten galleons," she said, placing the pouch in Scorpius's outstretched hand. When he grabbed the bag, he brushed his fingers against the soft skin of her hands. He smiled and put the pouch in his pocket.

"There's a party in Slytherin House tomorrow night," Scorpius said with forced nonchalance. Although he knew that Rose would consent to going with him no matter what, he still felt slightly nervous asking her to be his date to the party. When she only nodded, he said, "We should probably be seen there together."

"Yeah…" Rose said slowly. "Probably."

"Okay, well just meet me there at eight," Scorpius said before he turned to go. "Since we're not an official couple yet, I think it might be weird if we came together."

"Of course," Rose said simply.

"Well…" he said. "See you." Rose smiled at Scorpius as he turned and walked away from the library. Rose then made her own way back to Gryffindor Tower, touching and staring at her rose petal the entire way.


	4. Self Important Present

_Thanks for the comments so far! Keep it up. For __**Parvati48**__: It's nice to hear from you again! The only thing the epilogue told us was that Hugo wasn't in school yet, so he had to be at least a year younger. I made him two years younger just because I wanted to. I couldn't find any specific dates for him. As far as the Weasleys being poor, that was when they were Arthur and Molly's kids. Remember that this is Hermione and Ron—I definitely do not think they would be poor. And I don't want to give anything away about Albus, but he is Rose's best friend. He knows her better than anyone ;)_. _Well, keep reading and commenting, everyone. I just love this next chapter, so I hope you do, too._

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><p><strong>Chapter 4: Self-Important Present<strong>

The next night, Rose was admiring her reflection while she stood in her dormitory before she was to meet Scorpius for the Slytherin party. It was almost eight already, but she figured he could wait a little bit. She was wearing a strapless, floral sundress with purple, dark red, and mustard yellow colors in it with a cardigan over it that matched the mustard yellow color in her dress. Her hair was voluminous and her wavy curls were bouncier than normal. The dress was short, but she wasn't terribly concerned about it. She smiled at her reflection before she grabbed her small bag and headed toward Slytherin House.

Meanwhile, Scorpius was standing in the Slytherin common room waiting for Rose to show up. Ever since he had made the arrangement with her, she had gotten inside his head. He didn't know what it was that made him give her that rose petal—he could have just as easily given her some fake stupid note that she could pretend was some gesture—but for some reason, he wanted to do something more for her. Before that night, Scorpius had noticed her at the Ravenclaw party a few weeks earlier. She had looked beautiful that night, and he tried to tell himself that it was just his wickedness and desire to get under James's skin that made him think such a thing, but when he imagined her bouncing up and down on top of him, he realized that it was more than just James. It was her. Before this year, Scorpius had never noticed how attractive Rose was, but now, he found himself thinking about her dark strawberry blonde hair and her red lips and her big, blue, almond shaped eyes, and that plump but firm behind that was practically begging to be grabbed. Yes, Scorpius just found himself lost in thoughts of these things the same way he was now. He was so lost in this moment that he didn't even notice when Rose walked into Slytherin House.

Scorpius felt a small tap on his shoulder. He gasped when he turned around and saw Rose standing there. Just like she had the night of the Ravenclaw party, Rose looked incredible. He found his eyes wandering to her chest, and she tilted her head in order to give him a look as if to tell him that her eyes were on her head and not on her chest.

"You look good," Scorpius tried to say casually.

Rose smiled and said thank you before Scorpius offered her a drink. She coughed a bit when she took a sip from the punch he had just given her. "This is strong," she said, her eyes watering a bit. "What's in this?"

"Don't worry about it," he said with a smirk. "Just drink it."

Rose sipped her drink and stood next to Scorpius awkwardly. There was music playing in the Slytherin common room, although it was not loud enough that it would draw attention of professors or prefects patrolling the halls. She looked around and noticed that a few people had their eyes on the two of them. If the two of them merely standing next to each other was enough to draw stares, she could only imagine what would happen when things between the two of them became more serious—well, at least as serious as their arrangement allowed. Rose sighed.

"What now?" she asked.

Scorpius scoffed. "I don't know, this is your operation," he said with a shrug. "You tell me."

"Well," she started slowly. "I guess we just stand here for a little bit and chat," she said uncertainly. She was feeling more awkward by the second. "And then maybe we should dance or something?" Rose did not really know the protocol for a fake courtship.

Scorpius, unsure as well, laughed and shook his head. "I guess that works," he said.

"So…" Rose said. "What do we talk about?" She was staring at her hands and trying not to concentrate on how close Scorpius was standing to her. He smelled amazing and he looked even better. She could see his strong arms through the sleeves of his dark gray button down shirt, and she briefly imagined his strong arms around her before she tried to snap out of it.

Scorpius shrugged and thought a minute. Then he said, "Why do you hate your family?"

Rose looked up at him with shock and shook her head back and forth quickly. "I don't," she gasped out. "I don't hate them. I love my family. My parents are amazing, and I look up to my younger brother, as crazy as that sounds. I love my aunt and uncle, my cousin Albus is my best friend, and I love that James looks out for me like I'm his own sister."

At the sound of James's name, Scorpius rolled his eyes, and Rose changed her train of thought. "Why do you hate him so much?" she asked, eyes narrowed.

Scorpius sighed and shook his head. "I don't know," he said somewhat quietly. Now that Rose had called him out on his rivalry with James, he felt slightly embarrassed. "A lot of it has to do with Quidditch, and…" Slightly annoyed that he had to defend himself, Scorpius became indignant. "You know he's not as great as you think he is. You think I'm arrogant and self-involved, well, James isn't exactly humble and self-less."

"I know that," Rose interjected. "I know James isn't perfect, but is it just James that makes you hate him or is it your family or the war or whatever?"

"It's definitely not my family," Scorpius said. "My dad has told me many times that I need to get over this 'immature rivalry,' as he calls it. He tells me all about his rivalry with Harry Potter, and he wishes that I wouldn't do the same thing. It's not like he feels bad or anything," Scorpius said quickly. "I think he just wishes I would focus my energy on other things the way he wishes he would have." Rose nodded in understanding and Scorpius continued. "And as for that war… Don't even get me started. I'm so sick of hearing about all of that, you know?"

Rose smiled. "You have no idea." Scorpius returned the smile. He had thought this night would be slightly awkward, and while it had been a few minutes earlier, he now found that he was actually enjoying Rose's company. Rose continued. "Imagine if your uncle was Harry Potter."

Scorpius laughed. "I get that," he said. "But imagine that everyone in your family had a chip on their shoulder because they feel like everyone is judging them based on the past."

Rose did not laugh. "Do you feel like that? Do you think people judge you because of your family's past?"

"Oh, I know they do," Scorpius said as he looked down at the ground. "'Oh, he's a Malfoy. You know about the Malfoys, right?'" Scorpius imitated some unknown person. "I mean, I get it… It's just annoying."

"Well, trust me," Rose said, placing a soft hand on Scorpius's shoulder. He felt a swoop in his stomach at her touch. "I'm not judging you based on your past. I'm judging you solely based on your completely self-important present," Rose said with a smile.

"Thanks," Scorpius said sarcastically. He put a hand to his heart. "That means so much." Rose laughed, and Scorpius laughed with her. Her smile and her laugh were infectious, and he couldn't help but notice how her face lit up when she laughed. He had to admit that she looked incredibly beautiful when she smiled. After a moment of slightly awkward silence, a slower song had begun to play and Scorpius said, "Well, maybe we should dance now or something."

Rose laughed lightly and said, "Yeah, I guess so." Scorpius held out his hand and Rose hesitated briefly before she took it and let him lead her to the spot in the common room where a few people were dancing. She noted that his hands felt rough—most likely from gripping a broom—but they also had a soft quality about them. Maybe it was the way he clasped her hand that made his hand seem soft, or maybe she was just imagining it all in her head, but for some reason she squeezed his hand as he spun her around to face him once they reached the dance area. He pulled her close so that their bodies were pressed against each other, and Scorpius's heart began to beat very quickly. He could feel Rose trembling slightly in his arms, so he held her even tighter, which only caused her to tremble even more.

"Are you cold?" he asked her. She was wearing a strapless dress with only a small sweater to keep her warm, and Scorpius knew that the dungeons tended to be cold. He was almost a head taller than she, and she had to look up to meet his eyes. She shook her head and rested her head on his shoulder.

"I'm fine," she said. Her voice was shaky, and her head was reeling. She didn't know why Scorpius was having this effect on her, but it certainly was not the slight chill that was making her shiver. The feeling of Scorpius's strong arms wrapped tightly around her waist was making her knees slightly weak. In order to hold herself up, she wrapped her arms even tighter around Scorpius's neck.

"People are staring," Scorpius said into her ear. He took a deep breath and smelled her hair after he spoke. It smelled of mango and coconut, and it almost overwhelmed him. _She's paying me,_ he thought to himself. _This is nothing more than a business arrangement… Get a grip on yourself, Scorpius._

"I don't care," was all Rose said in response. They continued to sway back and forth with each other, still unsure of their feelings. She could feel the eyes on them, but she tried to convince herself that that was the whole point of this. Rose had said there would be no kissing. She had made that perfectly clear. She knew that would only make things more complicated. She wasn't one for public displays of affection anyway. She barely knew Scorpius, and they weren't even in their official—fake—relationship yet. So when Rose tilted her head up and looked at Scorpius, she was surprised to find herself leaning up toward his mouth.

Scorpius looked at her and hesitated. She had said no kissing. That was one of her most important rules. But, if he was not mistaken, she was looking at him and leaning toward him as if she wanted him to kiss her. He leaned down so that their mouths were only centimeters from each other. He could feel her breath on his face, and he could feel her shaking in his arms. He brushed his lips against hers, her eyes fluttered closed, and right when he could have sworn that he heard a small whimper from her, the music changed. In place of the slow song that had been playing seconds before, it was now a popular, upbeat dance song that brought several people to the floor as someone increased the volume.

It was as if the song change had brought them both back to reality. Rose shook her head and pulled away from Scorpius. He dropped his head slightly and almost groaned with disappointment. She turned and tried to walk away, but he held onto her hand and turned her around right before he began to dance in time with the music. When she saw him dancing, she covered her mouth with her free hand and laughed lightly. He wasn't a great dancer, and he knew that, but for some reason, he didn't want to let Rose go and she didn't want to go. She paused briefly before she approached him once again and began dancing in time with him. He pulled her to him and they danced against each other. She smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck as they grinded against each other with the music. Scorpius turned Rose around and she pressed the back of her body against his front while she continued to grind against him. She was smiling and biting her bottom lip as she got more and more into the music. He leaned his head forward and placed his cheek against hers as she brought her arm around and grasped the back of his neck. The dance area was becoming more crowded now, but neither of them seemed to notice.

For the rest of the party, they danced like that together, only taking a break to grab more punch or use the restroom. Rose, who had shed her cardigan, was having the best time she had ever had at any party at Hogwarts, and for a time, she forgot about her arrangement with Scorpius. She was so comfortable in his arms that it felt like they had been a couple for months or even years.

Eventually, the party started to thin out, and Rose and Scorpius were a few of the only people left in the common room. When Rose finally realized that she and Scorpius were not the only two people in the world, she turned around and faced him. He didn't even hesitate before he pulled Rose tightly to him. She laughed and bowed her head briefly before she looked up at him and said, "I should probably go." She noticed that her words were a bit slurred, and it was obvious that the punch had had a somewhat significant effect on her. When Scorpius spoke, she realized that he was pretty impaired as well.

"I'll walk you back," he said.

"No, you'll get in trouble," Rose said with a huge grin as she tried to pull herself from Scorpius's grip.

"It'll be worth it," Scorpius said, pulling Rose even closer. Unwilling to resist, Rose simply pulled herself from Scorpius's grip and smiled. He groaned at the separation but followed her like a puppy dog out of Slytherin House.

When Rose grabbed her sweater and her bag, they exited the common room among stares from all of the people still hanging around inside Slytherin House, and Rose slipped her hand inside of Scorpius's and interlaced her fingers through his. She smiled at the feeling of her hand in his and leaned against him as they walked. They walked in silence for a little while until Scorpius spoke in a voice that was near a shout.

"Rose, I—"

"Scorpius, shush!" Rose scolded playfully. "Do you want Filch to catch us?" Her voice was stern but her face betrayed her true emotions. She was smiling and looking down in an attempt to hide it.

"No," he said, suddenly serious. Then, almost as soon as he became serious, he started laughing hysterically. "This is so weird—me and you," he whispered.

"What do you mean?" Rose asked as she stumbled slightly.

"I don't know," he said in a louder whisper. "This whole thing is crazy, right? I would have never thought of doing anything like this ever, but here I am, walking you home from our fake kinda-date and about to ask you to be my fake girlfriend. Isn't it weird?"

Rose laughed. "I guess so," she said. "But it's kind of fun, don't you think?" He nodded excitedly and Rose said, "Hey!—"

"Rose!" Scorpius whispered loudly. "Do _you_ want Filch to catch us?"

Rose's eyes widened and she covered her mouth for a second before she spoke in a harsh whisper. "Are you really going to ask me to be your fake girlfriend?"

Scorpius smiled and put a finger to his mouth as if to shush Rose. "It's a secret," he whispered. Rose smiled to herself and bit her lip as she continued to walk hand in hand with Scorpius. She had no idea why she was excited. Scorpius was only going to take the first step in fulfilling his deal with Rose, but for some reason, she just couldn't wait. It was exciting, this thing with Scorpius. She didn't know what it was about him that got her so excited, but whatever it was, she really liked it.

They finally made it to Gryffindor Tower where Rose saw the Fat Lady slumbering soundly in her frame. Before Rose reached the portrait, Scorpius gripped her hand tightly and pulled her over to him. Their bodies were not touching, but they were as close as they could be without touching. Scorpius opened his mouth to speak, but Rose spoke first.

"I had a really good time tonight," she said, smiling.

"So, I'm doing a good job so far?" he asked, returning her smile. Rose's smile fell a bit when he provided the reminder that their relationship was nothing more than a deal that she had created. When he noticed her temporary mood change, he lifted his hand to tilt her chin up to make her look directly at him. "Hey," he said softly. "I had a _great_ time."

A smile broke across her face and she moved closer to him so that their bodies were lightly touching. She wrapped her arms around his waist in a tight hug and said, "Yeah, you're doing a good job."

With her arms still around his waist, Scorpius put his hands on either side of her face and bent his head down so that their noses were almost touching. "Look," he said. His voice was quiet and husky. "I know you said no kissing, but…" He leaned in closer to her so that their noses were touching on the sides and his lips were just barely touching hers. "I really want to kiss you right now," he said against her mouth.

Rose was breathing in and out deeply and the arms she had wrapped around Scorpius were shaking. Her heart was beating hard in her chest as she felt Scorpius's lips so close to her own. She tilted her head up a bit and moved her tongue so that it brushed lightly against Scorpius's bottom lip. He sighed and leaned into her, but she moved her mouth and placed a soft kiss on his cheek before she pulled away from him.

"Thank you," she said gently with a soft smile. "For tonight." She gave him a soft pat on the arm before she turned and entered Gryffindor Tower through a very disgruntled Fat Lady. Scorpius watched her go with disappointment and longing etched all over his face.


	5. James

_As always, thanks for the reviews! I won't reveal anything about this chapter except that for those wondering what position James plays on the Quidditch team, you'll find out in this chapter. Enjoy!_

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><p><strong>Chapter 5: James<strong>

Two weeks later, things between Rose and Scorpius were going according to plan. They were officially a fake couple, and her brother and cousins were in a very not-fake, official state of shock. At this moment, Scorpius was walking Rose to class through the hall hand in hand. Several people whispered as they walked by, and Rose smirked. She liked people's reactions and even more, she liked holding Scorpius's hand. After the night of the Slytherin party, Scorpius had been a bit cold to her for the days following. She knew he had wanted to kiss her that night, and she had wanted more than anything for him to kiss her, but she knew that it would only make things more complicated than they had to be. They could be a fake couple without ever actually kissing, and she was determined for this to be the case. All she wanted was to make her family realize she was her own woman, and then things could go back to normal. He warmed to her a bit more in the last week, but he still had not returned to the warmth and openness of that night. She still wanted to kiss him and she was fairly certain that he still wanted to kiss her, but neither of them betrayed those feelings.

Once they got to the Transfiguration classroom that Rose was supposed to be in, he leaned down and placed a soft kiss on her forehead before he said, "See you after class," and turned and walked down the hallway and out of sight.

After class, Scorpius was there to walk her back to Gryffindor Tower. She smiled when she exited the classroom and saw him waiting there for her. She was a heap of emotions. He looked incredible as always and she couldn't help but take his hand immediately in hers. The feeling of his warm hand made her knees weak, but she only smiled and walked along with him.

"How was class?" he asked.

She smiled to herself. "Oh, you know—"

Just then, Rose was cut off by a firm hand gripping her bicep. With a flash of anger, she whipped around, ready to confront whoever had grabbed hold of her so tightly.

"James," Rose said with narrowed eyes.

"I need to speak with you," her cousin said to her. "Now."

Rose rolled her eyes and clenched her teeth. Before even beginning her conversation with James, she knew she was not going to like whatever he had to say. This had been her plan all along, though, right? She wanted her family to get angry enough to know that they could not make her decisions for her. With forced resolve, Rose turned to Scorpius and placed a soft kiss on his cheek. He knew that she did it just to rile her cousin, but that did not stop his heart from leaping into his chest anyway. "I'll meet up with you later," she said.

"No," James said angrily. "He might as well hear this, too." Rose opened her mouth to rebut and Scorpius just stared at James, but James continued on. "You lied to me, Rose—"

"Scorpius," Rose interrupted. "Just please go." Scorpius frowned at Rose and scowled at James before he turned to go. She brushed her hand gently down his arm as he walked away from the two feuding family members. He could hear James shouting at Rose as he rounded the corner, and he had the fierce urge to turn back and punch James square in the jaw, but he instead clenched his own jaw firmly and did as Rose asked.

"—and then you had the nerve to tell me, point blank, to my face, that nothing was going on between you and Malfoy," James was yelling. Rose's face was red with anger, but she firmly held her ground and kept her cool as she waited for James to finish his tirade. "Then I have to overhear the conversation of two Slytherin girls who are whispering about how that 'slag' Gryffindor girl was _grinding_ all over Scorpius Malfoy at their party two weekends ago. And here you are, just throwing your _relationship_—or whatever it is—in my face—"

"My god, James!" Rose's temper finally flared. "This isn't about you!" Although James's reaction was an example of _exactly_ why Rose had made the arrangement with Scorpius, she was incredibly frustrated with the fact that he would think so. "Contrary to what you may believe, not everything everyone does has something to do with you!"

"You didn't even have the decency to tell me!" James shouted. "You knew I was concerned about you and Malfoy, so first you lied to my face—"

"I didn't lie to you!" Rose shouted back with equal ferocity. She and James were standing only a foot from each other, and although Rose was significantly shorter than the tall Gryffindor Chaser, she refused to cower in any way. "I only started seeing Scorpius after that party. He was nice to me and I had fun, and then he asked me to be his girlfriend—"

"YOU HAVE TO STOP THIS, ROSE!" James roared. "I demand that you stop whatever it is you think you're doing—"

"Now you listen to me, James Sirius Potter," Rose said, lowering her voice and raising her index finger to point it in James's face. "You do not control me or anything I do. I know you think you're looking out for me, but you're not. You're only trying to keep me under your control for your own selfish reasons. I know you hate Scorpius and I know he hates you, but I think you both just need to grow up. I'm a part of both your lives now, and you can either deal with it, or I'll only be a part of one person's life, and it won't be yours."

Before James could say another word, Rose turned on her heel and walked swiftly away from him. She did not know where she was going. She couldn't go to Gryffindor Tower because her entire family was in Gryffindor house. All she knew was that she had to get far away from James. For the first time since she made the deal with Scorpius, she began to question her decision. Yes, she wanted to prove to James and Hugo and her mother and everyone that they had no power over her, but that did not mean that she wanted to break all ties with the people she loved most just to prove a point. _But_… Rose thought to herself. _Am I really just proving a point or do I have feelings for Scorpius?_ Rose shook her head back and forth violently. She tried to shake the thought from her brain that anything between her and Scorpius was more than what her plan called for. Yet Rose could not deny that unmistakable burning feeling she got in the pit of her stomach when Scorpius came anywhere near her, or the tight feeling in her chest when he touched her and seemed to leave a trail of burning fire on her skin, or the way she felt when she went even a short time without seeing him—that strong urge to be around him at all times. She could not deny these things, and yet she desperately wanted to.

Rose rounded another corner and she still did not know where she was walking when she felt strong arms wrap around her and pull her tight. When she gasped, the owner of the arms turned her quickly around but kept her in those arms. Her heart fluttered when she looked up and saw Scorpius.

"Are you okay?" he asked her. Rose slid her arms around Scorpius's waist as he kept his arms wrapped tightly around her upper body. She looked up at him and he leaned his head down to rest his forehead against her own.

Her eyes closed as she said, "I'm fine." Scorpius heard the catch in her voice, and he used one hand to tilt her head up. She opened her eyes and found his own grey eyes piercing her blue ones.

"No, you're not," he said with a frown. "What did he say to you? I'll—" He tried to pull away from Rose as if he was going to find James and teach him some kind of lesson, but Rose held onto him tighter.

"Scorpius," she said as she locked eyes with him again. "I'm fine. Just… Just hold me right here for a while." Scorpius did as she asked, and she leaned her head against his chest and listened to his breathing. The sound of his heartbeat and his steady breaths were a comfort to her. She was still shaken about her argument with James, and she was still very much questioning her deal with Scorpius, but for some reason, being in his arms was the only thing that could give her comfort at this moment.

Scorpius brought his hands down and slid them around her waist as she reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck. She had to stand on the tips of her toes as she buried her face in Scorpius's neck. He smelled so good—like mint and soap. The feeling of her breath on his neck was sending shivers throughout Scorpius's entire body. He pulled her closer and leaned down to whisper in her ear.

"Still no kissing?" he asked her.

Rose smiled into his neck before she shook her head and tried to pull herself away from him.

"Rose," he said as he pulled her to him once more. This time their faces were inches from each other's.

"Don't kiss me Scorpius," she said as she tilted her head back and closed her eyes. She looked as if she was begging to be kissed although her mouth spoke differently. "It will only complicate things."

Knowing she was right, he leaned down and pressed his lips to her neck. Rose whimpered softly before Scorpius pulled away and left her body feeling empty and cold. He grabbed her hand and guided her down the corridor they were currently in. She carefully avoided his eyes that she knew were on her. In her emotional state after her fight with James, she had dropped her defenses once again and let Scorpius get a bit too close.

"Do you want to go work in the library with me?" he asked her after several more moments of silence. When she hesitated, he added, "I promise, no funny business." Rose couldn't help but smile as she let Scorpius guide her to the library.

After they found a somewhat secluded table, they each took out some assignments to work on and began pretending to focus intently on their work. After a little while, not knowing what came over her, Rose slipped her foot out of the flat she was wearing and slid her bare foot across Scorpius's ankle and slowly up his leg, then back down again.

Scorpius jumped a little bit when he felt the cold flesh against his leg, but he smiled to himself and moved his leg closer to encourage Rose's actions. Rose continued to play with Scorpius's foot and leg with her own foot as she stared at her Charms book and feigned reading. When he scooted his chair just a bit closer while he pretended to read his Herbology book, she responded with a seductive smile that he did not see. She slid her foot up higher this time, and when her foot grazed his inner thigh, he jumped slightly in his chair and she smirked.

_Why and how is she doing this to me?_ Scorpius thought. He wondered why she was doing this if she wouldn't even let him kiss her, and he also wondered how she had such an effect on him. Maybe he wanted what he couldn't have, and maybe he wanted to get a rise out of James—whatever his motivations, he knew that he wanted Rose in every way. There was no denying it now.

Rose lowered her foot from Scorpius's thigh, but she still continued to use her toes to gently brush against Scorpius's ankle. While she continued to do that, he reached out his hand and brushed his fingers lightly against her own. She jumped slightly at the touch, but she responded somewhat eagerly. While both still pretended to read their books, each of them had broad smiles on their faces as their fingers gently teased each other's. They continued on like that for a while longer until they decided to leave the library, both somewhat reluctant.

As they prepared to part ways to their respective houses, Scorpius pulled Rose to him and tried to kiss her again, but she placed a kiss on his cheek and headed on her way. Scorpius grunted with disappointment, a noise that Rose was pleased to hear as she strode away with a smile on her face.


	6. If You Like That Sort of Thing

_Thanks as always for the reviews. This is a pretty quick update—I just had some free time, and I had Rose and Scorpius on the brain. I think you all will like this chapter. Enjoy!_

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><p><strong>Chapter 6: If You Like That Sort of Thing<strong>

When Rose got back to the common room after her night in the library with Scorpius, she still had a giddy smile attached to her face.

"What's all that happiness about, baby girl?"

Rose looked up and saw Albus staring at her from his favorite spot by the fire in the common room. He was alone, which came as a surprise to Rose who hadn't seen Albus without Poppy in almost a week.

"Oh," she said, blushing. "It's… it's nothing."

"Something's got to have you so cheerful," Albus said as he gestured for Rose to come sit by him on the sofa he was sitting on. Without a second thought, Rose walked over to Albus and curled up next to him. He put his arm around her, and she leaned her head on his shoulder. When Rose's only response was a smile, Albus said, "I just talked to James." Rose's head shot up but Albus held her tighter. "Now, before you snap at me, just listen, okay?" She clenched her teeth together tightly, but she leaned her head against Albus's shoulder once again as he continued. "He's only trying to look out for you, Rose," he began. "Trust me… He's my older brother, and all he does is look out for me. Besides you, he's the best friend I've ever had, and he's the best brother I could ask for." He paused briefly. "I know he can be overbearing, and I know he has a temper, but he really does mean well. Now," he inhaled and exhaled deeply. "That being said… I trust you, Rose. I trust that you know what you're getting yourself into. If Scorpius makes you happy, then I'm happy. Only you know what's best for you—"

"It's fake," Rose said. She didn't know what made her say it. Maybe it was because she didn't like lying to her best friend or maybe she just needed to tell someone—_anyone_—the truth about her relationship with Scorpius. Mostly she wanted to see if their fake relationship had any real merit, and she thought Albus might know. "The thing with Scorpius… I'm paying him." Albus's eyes widened with shock. "Look," Rose continued. "It all started after my mum sent me that letter and James confronted me… I was just tired of everyone telling me what to do, so I came up with this plan—"

"Oh, Rose…" Albus said, shaking his head.

"Don't give me that, Al!" Rose said. She sat up and faced him. "You know how our family is. I just wanted to do something that was about me for once. But Al…" she smiled and looked down at her hands. "I think I'm really starting to like him." When Albus did not say anything, Rose continued. "He just makes me feel so… I don't know… amazing! He makes me feel like there's no one else in his world but me and him."

"You're paying him—"

"I know, I know!" she interrupted. "But I know he's starting to feel the same way—"

"Or he's trying to help you get your money's worth." Albus shook his head.

"Al…"

"Rose, I'm sorry!" Albus said incredulously. "But what did you expect me to say? 'Oh, great idea, Rose. Piss off everyone in your family just so you can prove that you're your own woman.' I think you're playing with fire and one or both of you is bound to get hurt."

Rose did not say anything. She knew that Albus was right. She was paying Scorpius. _But_… she thought. _The way he holds me and tries to kiss me… That can't be faked…_ _Or can it?_ Rose was as confused as ever, but she wanted to prove to Albus that there was something between her and Scorpius.

"I'll prove it to you, Al," Rose said. "I'll show you that he has feelings for me, and if you can't see it, then I'll end the arrangement." Albus sighed but nodded in agreement.

"If only your parents knew where their hard earned money was going," Albus said. Rose punched him in the arm and he wrapped his arm tightly around her again with a laugh.

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><p>"Scorpius, stop!" Rose giggled. Scorpius used the hand he had around her waist and tickled her again as they walked along the path to Hogsmeade, causing Rose to giggle yet again and lean into him as she tried to get away from Scorpius's iniquitous hand. "Scorpius!" She pulled herself out of his arms and looked at him sternly, although there was an unmistakable twinkle in her eye.<p>

For the past week, Rose had lessened the time she spent with Scorpius. They were still seen holding hands in the hallway between classes, but any person would have been hard-pressed to find them spending time together other than that. After the conversation she had had with Albus, although she had told him she would prove that the feelings between her and Scorpius were real, she had been worried about where things were going with Scorpius. She could no longer deny to herself that she liked Scorpius, but he had never mentioned feeling the same way, although he had given several indications that he did. Scorpius was confused about why Rose didn't want to spend any extra time with him. He had not yet admitted to himself that he had actual feelings for Rose, but he knew that whatever he felt, it was more than just the arrangement they had made. He thought he had made it pretty clear how he felt, so when she refused to join him in any of their normal haunts, he became increasingly discouraged.

Now, almost a week and half after Rose's fight with James, Scorpius wrapped his arm around Rose's shoulders and pulled her close again. She smiled and stood taller to nuzzle his neck briefly before she put her own arm around his waist. They walked like that until they made it to Madam Pudifoot's, a place Scorpius was not at all excited to be in.

"How long do we have to stay in here?" he asked Rose with a look on his face as if he had smelled something incredibly foul. Rose gave Scorpius a slightly pleading look and took his hand as she led them to a somewhat secluded table. All around, there were couples smiling and holding hands over milkshakes or other sweets. One couple was sitting on one side of a booth and enveloped in a very intense battle of lips and tongues. Scorpius released a small sigh of longing when his eyes landed on the couple. It had been so long since he had been able to kiss anyone, but he found that he didn't want to kiss just anyone. He wanted to kiss Rose… which was of course a problem considering the rule she had made.

"Just long enough for people to know we're here," Rose said as she slid onto one side of a booth and waited for Scorpius to slide across from her. Instead of sitting across from her, however, Scorpius nudged her a bit with one of his hips, urging her to scoot over and provide some space for him. Rose smiled up at him before she moved over.

Scorpius was sitting dangerously close to Rose. Their thighs were touching, and his heart leapt when he felt her place a soft hand on the top of his thigh underneath the table. He felt a jolt below his belt but quickly moved his mind to other things. A slight distraction, a waitress came over a moment later and asked for their orders.

"Can we have the strawberry milkshake for two, and…" Scorpius creased his brow as he read the menu he was holding in front of him. Rose was just staring at him lovingly as he tried to figure out what she might want. "A slice of apple pie." The waitress smiled and took their menus, leaving Rose and Scorpius alone.

"What if that's not what I wanted?" Rose said playfully.

"Oh, did you want something else?" Scorpius asked with concern etched all over his face. "I can get her back over here," Scorpius raised his hand, and Rose pulled it down quickly with a small laugh.

"Scorpius, I'm kidding," Rose said as she took his left hand in her right one. "I love apple pie... and strawberry milkshakes."

Scorpius pulled his hand from Rose's and placed his hands in front of himself on the table nervously. "I remembered that you said you loved your mum's apple pie…"

Rose looked at him and clutched his arm with both hands. "You remembered that?"

"Yeah…" he said shyly. "It's really not a big deal." Rose didn't want to embarrass Scorpius, but she thought it was an incredibly huge deal. Her heart was threatening to burst when she placed her head on Scorpius's shoulder.

"That's really sweet, Scorpius," she said as she reached up and took his hand from the table and interlaced her fingers in his. Scorpius was very thankful that Rose's head was rested on his shoulder so she could not see him, for his face was flushed quite a bit. _Get a grip, man_, he told himself. _It's not a thing._

"So," Scorpius said hoarsely. He cleared his throat before he spoke again. "How are things with the family?"

Rose sighed. "They're okay," she said. Her head was still rested on Scorpius's shoulder. He removed his hand from hers and placed it around her inner thigh. Rose's heart started to thump as she wrapped her arms around Scorpius's arm. "Albus knows," she said breathily.

"Knows what?" Scorpius asked.

Rose hesitated. "He knows that this is fake."

Scorpius did not say anything. _Fake,_ he repeated in his head several times. Why was he suddenly so upset? All Rose had done was state the truth of their situation. _Good god, man, you act like the girl is your actual girlfriend. Get over it._ He told himself.

But he couldn't get over it. All he could think about was kissing Rose. He tried to hide the emotion in his voice, but when he said "Fake" out loud, Rose caught it. She stared at him with slightly wide eyes.

"Scorpius, I—"

Rose was cut off by the waitress returning with their order. "Okay!" she said cheerily. "A milkshake for _two_," she said suggestively as she placed it perfectly in between them on the table. "And apple pie. Enjoy!" she said as she turned away.

Neither of them touched what the waitress brought for a bit. Rose was the first to speak. "Scorpius—"

"Rose, it's not a big deal," Scorpius said with a forced smile. "I don't know why I even acknowledged it." She looked like she wanted to speak again but Scorpius continued. "I just don't know how he even figured out that it was fake. We're pretty convincing if you ask me."

Rose noticed the change in Scorpius's voice. Where earlier he had been genuinely happy, now his cheer sounded forced and strained. Deciding to take his lead, however, she did not acknowledge the change. She forced a laugh. "Well, I told him," she said, not making eye contact with Scorpius. He handed her a fork and kept one for himself so they could each eat the apple pie. She used her fork to separate a piece, and when she placed it in her mouth, she closed her eyes with delight.

"Good?" Scorpius asked as he took a bite for himself. He, too, looked incredibly satisfied by the pie.

Rose continued on about Albus. "I just didn't feel right keeping such a huge secret from my best friend."

Scorpius shrugged. "Well, let's just hope he doesn't say anything to James."

"I don't think he will," Rose said as she took a sip of their milkshake that had two straws protruding from it. "He's incredibly trustworthy. You know…" Rose said through a mouthful of pie. "I think you would really like Albus." Scorpius looked at her with a look of slight disbelief on his face. "I do!" she defended. "Albus is so kind, and he's also laid back and cool. I love him, and I really think you would, too."

"Did you forget that I play Quidditch against him, too?" Scorpius asked, his mouth full of pie as well.

"No, but you can set aside your differences for me, right?" Both of them sought to wash down the pie with a drink from their milkshake, but unfortunately, both had that desire at the same time. Each of them leaned forward toward the milkshake. Scorpius grunted and Rose screamed quietly as their heads knocked against each other. Rose clutched her head and looked at Scorpius. When she saw that his eyes were shut tightly in an attempt to stop the pain, Rose burst into laughter. She could not believe what had just happened. Scorpius looked up at her and when he saw her fit of laughter, he, too, began to laugh heartily.

When they each got themselves under control, Scorpius said, "Did that just happen?"

"It really did," Rose said with a smile still spread across her face. Rose looked down briefly and when she looked back up she noticed that the smile was gone from Scorpius's face, and he was looking at her mouth hungrily. He was looking at her with the same eyes he had the night he had walked her home from the Slytherin party. It was the same way he looked every time he wanted to kiss her. She licked her lips and looked at him. He leaned in towards her, and she closed her eyes in expectation. This was it. They would finally see if they really were more than Rose's deal with Scorpius. He put his arms around her waist and pulled her to him. She made a small noise but kept her eyes closed. She could feel that his face was close to hers and she began to breathe in and out quickly and deeply. She felt his lips brush just barely against hers before—

"Hi," a tentative voice said. Rose nearly jumped out of her skin and she felt Scorpius do the same. Then she heard a deep laugh that she knew very well. Her eyes shot open and she looked at her best friend. "I'm really sorry," Albus said with an apologetic smile. "Poppy and I just got here and we wanted to say hi." Poppy waved with an adorable smile plastered across her face.

"U-um, S-Scorpius," Rose stuttered as she tried to regain her composure. "You know my cousin Albus." She deliberately avoided eye contact with Scorpius or Albus. She couldn't believe how close they had just been to kissing. _Damn my stupid rule,_ she thought to herself. _And damn this stupid arrangement in the first place._

Albus and Scorpius nodded at each other. "And this is his girlfriend, Poppy."

"Nice to meet you, hun!" Poppy said cheerfully.

"You, too," Scorpius said with a small laugh. He had never met anyone so peppy.

"Poppy, will you sit down for a second?" Albus turned to his girlfriend. She nodded happily has Albus gestured for Rose to get out of the booth and come talk to him. With only a moment's hesitation, Rose squeezed past Scorpius and walked over to Albus so they could not be heard. She thought he might scold her, but when she looked at him, he had a grin on his face.

"So, what was that I just interrupted?" he asked her with a playful nudge.

Rose giggled and covered her mouth. "I don't know, Al," she said shaking her head.

"I thought it was just an arrangement—"

"I told you I thought it was more than that!" Rose whispered frantically.

"Well, it looks to me like it is," Albus said. "As long as you think it's mutual and that he's not just trying to get at James, I say go for it." Rose hugged Albus tightly. He turned her around and gave her an encouraging pat on the behind. "Now you go get your man!" he whispered. And she gave him a playfully dirty look before she walked back to her table with him.

When they got back to the table, Scorpius gave Rose a questioning look, but Rose only smiled and waved at Albus and Poppy as they said goodbye and went off to find their own table inside Madam Pudifoot's.

After Albus and Poppy were gone, Rose looked town at Scorpius from where she was standing next to him. "What do you say we get out of here?" Rose asked him. More than happy to oblige, Scorpius threw some galleons onto the table and slid out of the booth. He then took Rose's hand in his as they walked out of Madam Pudifoot's, waving goodbye to Albus and Poppy along the way.

They spent the next few hours in Hogsmeade, visiting the various shops and hang outs. They received their fair share of whispers as always, but to Rose's delight, she did not see James in Hogsmeade at all. When they had finally had their fill of Hogsmeade and after Scorpius had purchased a rubber chicken for Rose inside Zonko's (the chicken surprisingly turned into a real chicken when you squeezed its beak, and then back into rubber when you ruffled its feathers.), they began their walk back to the castle. As usual, Scorpius was grasping Rose's hand, and he was chatting merrily to her about how much he liked Poppy.

"She's just like an adorable puppy dog," Scorpius was saying.

"Yeah, sure," Rose said with a laugh. "If puppies are perfect tens with long, blonde, beautiful, wavy hair… I guess that's cool," Rose shrugged sarcastically. "If you like that sort of thing."

"She's just high-spirited," Scorpius said innocently. "Anyway, I think you're prettier than she is." Scorpius carefully avoided eye contact with Rose. He was walking slightly ahead of her when he felt a jerk of his arm. Rose pulled Scorpius back and wrapped her arms around his neck as she brought her mouth up close to his.

"Do you always say and do the right thing?" she said as her eyes flickered back and forth between his eyes and his mouth. Scorpius put his arms around her waist and pulled her close.

"I almost never do," Scorpius said gruffly. He pulled her even tighter and brought his head down so that their lips were brushing against each other's slightly. Scorpius stared down at her slightly parted lips and did not hesitate before he caught her bottom lip in between his. She bit his upper lip lightly before he used his mouth to open hers and allow his tongue entrance. She moaned quietly into his mouth when she felt his tongue against hers. She couldn't believe she had waited this long to do this. He tasted so good and he felt so good, and she never wanted her mouth to be away from his. Rose fisted Scorpius's hair and pushed him further into her, and he grunted as he cupped her backside in his hands and lifted her slightly off the ground when he did so. At that, she released a breathy whimper, and he felt a sharp jolt in his pants. Finally, desperate for air, she parted her mouth from his, and he rested his forehead against hers as they leaned into each other, gasping lightly for air.

"God, I've wanted to do that for so long," Scorpius said huskily. Rose smiled and tilted her head up to place a very soft kiss on Scorpius's top lip. "But I thought you said no kissing…"

In response, Rose brought her mouth to Scorpius's again and allowed her tongue to find his playfully for a brief moment before she parted from him again. "I guess I changed my mind," she said. Her voice came out in a kind of gasp that she could not control. Her breath was still taken away by the kiss she had just shared with Scorpius.

Scorpius leaned down to kiss Rose again but he was interrupted by a shout.

"Hey, you two!" With their arms still wrapped around each other, they both looked in the direction of the voice. Rose shook her head when she noticed Albus and Poppy walking towards them, hand in hand. "Get a room!"

Rose laughed and yelled back. "You're one to talk!" He gave her an obscene gesture with a smile as he and Poppy walked past her and Scorpius. Then, Rose turned to Scorpius once again.

"Maybe we should get a room," Scorpius said to her with a seductive smile.

Rose shook her head and pulled away from him. "Yeah, you were right; you don't always say the right thing."


	7. You Should Take a Chance

_Thank you everyone so very much for the reviews! After that kiss, what next? Read and find out, and as always, all reviews are welcome and appreciated. Also, sorry for the time delay. I was having uploading problems. Anyway, enjoy!_

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><p><strong>WARNING: Sexual Content<strong>

**Chapter 7: You Should Take a Chance**

"Merlin, Rose," Scorpius moaned. "Yes, just like that…" He tipped his head back in ecstasy and allowed the feelings to wash over him. "You're so _good_ at that," he said, with a heavy emphasis on the word 'good.' His breathing was slow and heavy, and he felt relaxed completely. Rose laughed.

"I have been told that I have a knack for massages," she said as she continued to dig her hands into Scorpius's back and shoulders. It had been almost three weeks since the Hogsmeade weekend, and ever since then, things between Rose and Scorpius had been going smoothly and without incident. They had not kissed since, nor had they even spent a great deal of time together since. The Quidditch final was fast approaching, and Scorpius had his team practicing almost every day. The final would be between Slytherin and Gryffindor, which caused Scorpius to work even harder. When they could not get the pitch, they would do strength and endurance work outs to prepare them for the final. Rose didn't mind. She felt somewhat relieved that there had not been a great deal of pressure on her since Hogsmeade. She still felt butterflies in her stomach and warmth all over her entire body when Scorpius so much as looked at her, but for now, she was content to work out the soreness that all his Quidditch practices had caused instead of facing her real feelings.

Scorpius, however, was greatly disappointed. Since Hogsmeade, Scorpius had tried with all his might to get some alone time with Rose, but to no avail. She was busy with end of the year schoolwork, and he was busy with Quidditch on top of his school work. There was only a little over a month left in the term, which meant only a little over a month left for their arrangement. For the past several weeks, Scorpius felt constantly nervous. He did not know what it was that put him on edge, but he was constantly nervous, especially when he was around Rose. His heart would race and his palms would sweat and all he wanted to do was kiss her, but he knew he couldn't. He knew that their second kiss could only happen at the perfect time, and he was determined to make that happen. She had gotten under his skin. Her dark blonde hair tinged with red, her soft blue eyes, her full red lips—they had all driven him absolutely crazy. When she smiled and showed her slightly big, but gorgeously straight, white teeth, his heart would simply melt in his chest. Even the slightest touch from her sent shivers throughout his entire body. He yearned for her. When he was away, she was all he could think about, and it drove him crazy. He really did want to stop thinking about her. He had a sense that she regretted the kiss even though she did not say it, and if this was going to be nothing more than an arrangement, he didn't want to get in too deep only to be sorely disappointed at the end.

For now, however, Scorpius was willing to take whatever contact he could get. Her small, usually gentle hands had turned into fierce, strong hands as she worked out all of the knots and kinks in his back and shoulders. He gasped and sighed and moaned several times, and had an unknowing passerby heard them in their secluded corner in the library, they would have thought the two of them were not doing something as innocent as a massage.

"Well, you have a gift," Scorpius said breathily. Rose laughed again but did not say anything. Rose continued to work her hands through the tightness, but after another several minutes, Rose removed her hands from his shoulders.

"We should probably get back to work." Scorpius noticed the quiver in her voice, and when he turned to face her, he could see that her eyes were full of lustful need. As she had stood there massaging his back, images of running her hands down his bare back had flashed in her mind. She also imagined the scratch marks she would leave after his body was over her and she pulled him closer. The sounds he had been making were causing her to experience a warmth in between her legs, and she knew she had to stop. She took several steps away from Scorpius, and he studied her intently.

After a moment, he stood up and walked to her. Their bodies were close, and Rose closed her eyes when Scorpius brought his face down toward hers. She tilted her head back and parted her lips slightly. He leaned in and put his mouth next to her ear.

"I've wanted to kiss you again ever since that day in Hogsmeade," he whispered, knowing that this was what she wanted. She shivered at the feeling of his breath on her ear, and when he brought his mouth down and placed it on her neck, the whimper that she emitted was unmistakable.

"You're so beautiful," he said into her neck before he trailed a line of kisses from her ear down to her collarbone. She whimpered again and pressed her body against his. "And you taste so good," he said as he began sucking gently at her neck.

Rose lifted her hands and put them on his head so she could run her fingers through his hair. She moaned at the feeling of his mouth in the same spot on her neck, using his lips and tongue to take in every taste she had to offer. He smiled against the skin of her neck as he thought of the mark he knew would be there when he was done. He put his arms around her waist and pulled her closer, causing a soft gasp from her followed by another string of soft whimpers. Scorpius moved his mouth and only briefly admired his handiwork before he brought his mouth back up to her ear. He nibbled at it gently before he spoke.

"Do you want me to kiss you again?" he whispered into her ear. She hummed in response. He brushed his tongue gently against the shell of her ear, and before he knew what was happening, she turned her head and brought her mouth to his roughly. It was his turn to moan this time, and he did so as she opened her mouth to allow his entrance. His tongue seemed to be in a war with hers as she clenched her hands tightly into his hair and pulled him down to her. Scorpius tightened the grip of his arms around her waist so much so that she was lifted off the ground slightly. There was a dull ache in between Rose's legs now, and she could feel Scorpius's erection hard against her. The massage had been like the tip of the iceberg of the intense foreplay they had seemed to be having over the last seven weeks.

She broke their kiss briefly so that she could push Scorpius up against the nearest wall. He smiled at her seductively with a hint of surprise on his face before she captured his open mouth against hers once again. She pressed her body firmly against his and moved her hips just barely in a small, circular motion against his own. He cupped her bottom in his hands and she wrapped her arms around his neck tightly as she felt his mouth move away from hers and to her neck. He sucked and bit at her neck roughly and she sighed with pleasure. When one of his arms left her waist and his hand slipped up her shirt, underneath her bra, and cupped her breast, she tipped her head back and moaned loudly. Realizing how loud she had just moaned, she quickly pulled herself away from Scorpius and took several steps back in order to increase the distance between him. He made to move forward, but she held her hands out.

"We can't do this…" she said. Her voice was husky and filled with need, giving every indication that she wanted to go on, but she held her ground. "Not here, anyway," she finished.

Scorpius's face had fallen somewhat when she said they couldn't, but it brightened again when she qualified her sentence.

"But somewhere else, maybe?" Scorpius asked with a hopeful smile on his face. His voice, too, was filled with desire and lust.

Rose smiled and bit her bottom lip. "Maybe," she said gruffly. "But not tonight. We have to get back to work."

"Rose—"

"Work, Scorpius," she said with finality. He pouted playfully and she nudged him as they each sat back down. She made sure to sit across the table from him and at a safe enough distance that neither his hands nor feet could reach her. "If you can just do that, we'll see what happens tomorrow." Rose smiled, and Scorpius clenched his fist triumphantly.

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><p>The next day when Scorpius met up with Rose to walk her to class, instead of the usual hand holding, she slipped her arm around his waist. Scorpius looked down at her with a look of pleasant surprise, and when she only smiled, he put his arm around her shoulders in response.<p>

They walked like that to class—with the sides of their bodies pressed against each other—and Scorpius was in heaven. Rose was finally breaking down the walls and letting their potential shine through. When they got to the History of Magic classroom, Scorpius was even more pleasantly surprised when Rose stood up on the tips of her toes to give him a soft kiss on the cheek.

"See you after class," she said coyly before she turned and walked into the classroom. Scorpius watched her go with shock etched all over his face. He didn't know what had gotten into Rose, but whatever it was, he liked it.

That afternoon was a bright, sunny day and dozens of students were out on the grounds. Scorpius thought it was a perfect time for a Quidditch practice, but Rose had convinced him to take a break from practicing and come out on the grounds with Albus and her. Scorpius had mumbled something about "Gryffindor sabotage" under his breath, but she just rolled her eyes and held tightly to his hand as she practically skipped outside.

Rose was elated. Things between Scorpius and her were incredibly complicated at this point in time. As far as she knew, their arrangement was still on, but she chose to focus on other things. She was living in blissful ignorance and for now, she did not care. The only thing she could focus on was spending time with Scorpius in Albus's company so that he could see how real things were. When she and Scorpius finally reached Albus, she was surprised to find Poppy not at his side.

"Where's Poppy?" Rose called as she approached her best friend. When he turned to face her, he opened his arms with a smile, Rose happily jumped into them, and they embraced.

When Albus released her, Rose noticed the look of jealousy in Scorpius's eyes. Normally she would have been annoyed at such a thing, but when she saw it in Scorpius, she thought it made him look incredibly sexy. The fact that he wanted her so much that even hugging her cousin made him jealous gave Rose a happy jolt in her stomach. Albus kept his arm around Rose's waist and she had her arm around his, as well, as he walked her over closer to the lake. Scorpius walked along side them, looking extremely put out.

"Ah, she's off somewhere," Albus said. Rose knew that tone.

"Albus Severus, do not tell me you broke up with her!" Rose shrieked and pulled away from him.

Albus shushed her and said, "Things just weren't going that well."

"Bollocks!" Rose said loudly, ignoring Albus's pleas to quiet down. "She's perfect for you and you know it. How many times have you done this to her now?" Over the years, Albus had dated several girls, but Poppy was his only on again, off again girlfriend. Since fourth year, Albus and Poppy had dated five separate times, and each time, Rose begged Albus to make it last. After every time since the first, however, Albus would claim that she was "just too much" and that he had to break things off. But Rose knew the truth. The first time Albus and Poppy had dated, he had broken it off because she had confessed that she had kissed another guy, and after the break up, Albus had been devastated for weeks. He had adored Poppy, and although she apologized and begged for his forgiveness, he would not give it. A few months later, however, Albus had told Rose that he still had feelings for Poppy, and Rose told him to go for it, knowing how much he loved her and how happy she made him. Ever since then, they had dated on separate occasions, and Rose knew that Albus broke it off each time because he was afraid to get hurt again. Rose, of course, couldn't blame him, but Poppy had never had an indiscretion since. Rose knew they were made for each other, and both Albus and Poppy knew it, too. Albus was just too afraid to get there.

"What have _I_ done to _her_?" Albus said angrily. "She was the one who cheated on me, remember, Rose?" He shot at her. "I just can't do it again—"

"So you're just going to continue to hurt her until you feel like you've paid her back enough for what she did to you?" Rose practically shouted.

"That's not what this is about!" Albus said, raising his voice. "I'm just not about to get in to deep only to have history repeat itself!"

Rose was about to fire back at Albus when she heard the sound of a throat clearing. Rose nearly jumped from her skin when she realized that it was Scorpius. She didn't know how, but she had completely forgotten that he was there temporarily through her anger at Albus. Both Rose and Albus turned to look at Scorpius.

"Look," he said slowly. "I know this is not my place at all, but can I say something?" he asked. Rose nodded, but Albus only clenched his jaw, which Scorpius took as reluctant consent. "Well…" he started. "Getting hurt sucks. It's just bloody awful to love someone and live in constant fear that you'll be hurt. But it's been my experience that you can't let fear consume you. If you love someone… or even if you just like someone… you should take a chance. If you get hurt then at least you can say you loved with all your heart before it came to an end."

Rose's breath caught in her throat as Scorpius spoke. After he finished, it took all of her strength not to rush to him and plant kisses all over him. But she held strong. She did not want to dare believe that he was talking about her, but she could not but believe that her relationship with him was pertinent to what he just said. For a while, none of them said anything. Albus clenched and unclenched his jaw several times in quick succession, and Rose just stared at Scorpius who was looking at Albus. Finally Albus spoke.

"I know you have a point," he said. "I just need time."

Rose opened her mouth to speak, but Scorpius raised a hand to cut her off before he responded. "That's all any of us needs. Just don't wait too long," Scorpius said. "Or it might be too late." Albus nodded, and after another moment, Scorpius spoke again. "So…" he said with a sly grin. "After that great advice, I'm sure you want to divulge all of Gryffindor's strategies for the final this weekend."

Albus's face broke into a smile, and Rose released a breath she did not realize she had been holding. "In your dreams, Malfoy," Albus said.

"Well, I'll tell you one of our strategies," Scorpius said wryly. Albus raised an eyebrow and Scorpius said. "Beat the hell out of Gryffindor." Albus laughed again and Scorpius joined him. Rose's heart glowed as she watched the two boys chat about Quidditch. She knew that each of them was making an effort for her and that they would have never spoken under regular circumstances, and for that, she adored them both. For a while, Rose simply looked on at them in awe and watched them talk and laugh with each other. Their conversation changed from Hogwarts Quidditch to international Quidditch and then somehow to Ministry politics then to Hogwarts professors and students. Rose was only brought out of her awed state by the sound of Scorpius's voice.

"Did you hear me, Rose?" he asked.

"Hm?" she said.

"We were talking about Glendeera Tenderwood and that reminded me that she gave me your sweater. Apparently you left it in the History of Magic classroom earlier," Scorpius said.

"Oh," Rose said. "Okay."

"I, erm," Albus said hesitantly. "I think I'm going to go try and find Poppy and talk to her…"

"You are?" Rose said brightly.

"Yeah," he said. "I love her, and I want things to work out."

Rose smiled and pulled Albus into a tight hug. "I love you, Al," she said when she pulled away.

"I love you, too, Rose," he said with a shaky voice. Rose knew he was scared, but she also knew that he needed Poppy if he wanted to be truly happy. "I'll see you both later," Albus said with a wave as he turned and walked back towards the castle.

"Thanks," Rose said to Scorpius after Albus was out of ear shot. When he looked confused she said, "For what you said to Al… I think that really helped him." And then she said, "Looks like that Slytherin/Gryffindor rivalry is gone."

Scorpius laughed. "Not so fast," he said. She smiled and slipped her hand into his as they walked back towards the castle. "Well, do you want to come to my dormitory really quickly and grab your sweater?" Rose just smiled and nodded as they walked hand in hand back to the castle. Neither of them said anything during the entire walk. It was nice—to just walk in silence and enjoy each other's company. Rose's arm had ended up around Scorpius's waist and his arm was around her shoulder by the time they made it Slytherin House. Rose's whole body felt like there was a fire just below her skin, and she realized how much she had been leaning into Scorpius when he finally pulled away from her and took her hand to guide her up to his dorm. Neither of them noticed the several stares they received from people when they walked through the common room.

When they made it into the dormitory, Scorpius motioned for Rose to sit on his bed.

"Where are your housemates?" Rose asked shakily.

"Not sure," Scorpius said innocently. "Probably out on the grounds." Rose nodded as Scorpius handed her the sweater and sat down next to her on his bed. There was about a foot of space between them, but Rose still felt the fire beneath her skin. She clutched her sweater tightly in her hands when she suddenly realized the position she was in. She was sitting on Scorpius's bed with him in an empty dormitory on an afternoon when no one was likely to return for a while. Rose's heart began to pound in her chest.

"Well, I should probably get back to my house," she said. Although she said this, she made no move to rise and leave. Scorpius stared at Rose for only a split second before he pulled out his wand, cast a locking charm on the door and a silencing charm on the room before he threw his wand aside and brought his mouth to Rose's. Rose moaned with pleasure at the feeling of Scorpius's tongue in her mouth for the second time in less than twenty-four hours. She brought her hand to the back of his neck and pulled him deeper into the kiss. His mouth was soft but his kisses were rough and intense and heated.

Rose allowed Scorpius to push her back onto his bed and position the both of them so that he was above her. She turned her mouth away from his in order to catch a breath and she sighed lustfully when she felt his mouth on her neck. She had tried to cover the mark he made yesterday with a concealment charm, but the charm had worn off and he was only adding another similar mark to the other side of her neck. She squirmed and writhed beneath him with pleasure, and the friction it caused made a tent grow in Scorpius's pants.

Scorpius pulled up from Rose and stared down at her. They had each changed into Muggle street clothes before heading down the grounds, and he could just see the outline of her stomach through the black v-neck shirt she was wearing. In an instant he removed the shirt she was wearing and admired the two mounds before him. She did not protest, but only sighed with pleasure at the hungry look in Scorpius's eyes. Scorpius thought that Rose's breasts were just begging to be kissed, so he barely hesitated before his mouth was placing kisses all over her chest. He then pulled one of the cups of her bra down to expose her nipple. He noticed that it was firm and erect before he placed his mouth around it. Rose moaned loudly and put her hands on the back of Scorpius's head.

Scorpius sucked roughly and gently at both her nipples and felt his member begin to ache from the sounds she was making. He loved watching her come undone beneath him. Every time she moaned, Scorpius started to search harder and harder for ways to make her moan more and louder. When he had nipped his teeth at one of her nipples and she had moaned, he bit down a bit harder and her moan turned into more of a soft scream of pleasure. Everything he did that brought her more passion and pleasure made her body writhe and shake more beneath him. Scorpius brought his face up from Rose's chest and noticed the flush that had taken over her entire body. He grabbed her wrists and placed them above her head right before he brought his mouth down to hers again. Rose liked that Scorpius continuously alternated between rough and gentle—it was surprising and sexy.

Scorpius moved one of his hands from Rose's wrists, but used his other hand to hold both of them firmly in place above her head. He then brought his other hand down into her pants and to her warm mound. When he slipped one finger inside her, she arched into him and began to moan and breathe quickly and heavily. She was warm and very wet from the ministrations on her breasts just moments earlier. When he slipped a second finger inside her and began to pump in and out slowly, she yanked her hands from his grip above her head and brought them to his neck. She pulled him tightly to her and moaned his name loudly as his fingers began to slide in and out faster.

"God, yes, Scorpius," she moaned loudly with an incredibly shaky and strained voice. Her entire body was trembling and she was sure that no one had ever made her feel this way. He had used his free hand to poise himself above her, and he watched her very closely as he continued. Her moans were frequent now, and when he brought his thumb up and began to massage her sensitive nub, she screamed with pleasure. Her body was shaking and her hips were bucking uncontrollably as she tilted her head back and moaned over and over. Finally, she tilted her head back and the sound caught in her throat as her body shook and vibrated with orgasm. When wave after wave washed over here, she let out a few last shouts and her hips bucked gently a few more times before all the muscles in her body relaxed against Scorpius's bed.

Rose smiled and pulled Scorpius down to her in a deep kiss. She did not say anything, but instead let her kiss speak for her. Then, suddenly, there was a loud banging at the door of Scorpius's dormitory. Rose sat up quickly and grabbed her shirt from the floor and slipped it over her just before she heard someone say, "_Alohomora_," and the lock slid out of place. Scorpius was still straddling Rose, but he jumped up quickly when one of his roommates came barreling into the room. Rose simply laid back on Scorpius's bed in shame and complete and utter embarrassment. Her pants were still unbuttoned and unzipped, but she knew the jig was up.

"Oh!" Scorpius's roommate said in surprise when he saw Rose lying on the bed and Scorpius standing there beside the bed like a kid who had been caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

"Dorian—"

"Scorp, I'm so sorry!" Dorian said quickly. "I had no idea. I-I just came up here to get a pair of sneakers," Dorian said as he rushed over to his trunk and pulled out a pair of trainers. "I…" He paused and walked quickly and briefly over to Scorpius's bed. He extended his hand to Rose. "Dorian," he said quickly.

"Rose," she said. She sat up momentarily and shook his hand as a blush swept across her entire body.

"Nice," Dorian tried to say to Scorpius discreetly. Rose heard him, however, and she laid back onto Scorpius's bed once again, mortified. She covered her face with one hand, and Scorpius could not help but smile at her embarrassment.

"Dorian, get out of here," Scorpius said. He gave Dorian a playful shove, and Dorian turned and left the room quickly, chuckling the entire way.

"I'm so sorry," Scorpius said as he turned around and sat down on the edge of his bed. Rose continued to lay there, now with both hands covering her face.

"I am mortified," she said through her hands.

Scorpius laughed and moved her hands. He smiled down at her, and she could not help but return the smile. With her wrists still in his hands, he bent down and placed a soft kiss on her lips. She responded by removing her hands from his grip and wrapping her arms around his neck while she opened her mouth to his kiss.

When they finally pulled away, Scorpius said, "I really am sorry… Well, not for what I just did to you a few minutes ago, but for Dorian walking in," he said with a smile. Rose rolled her eyes, but she had a smile on her face. "Just thank Merlin that he didn't walk in a minute earlier." Rose's eyes widened at the thought. "Not that you would have noticed, anyway, how loud you were being."

Rose made and offended face, pushed Scorpius away from her, and climbed off of his bed. She still had glee all over her face, but she tried to hide it. "I'm getting out of here, and I'm never coming back," she said. She grabbed her sweater and walked toward the door.

"Walk of shame," Scorpius said playfully when she put her hand on the doorknob. With a smile on her face, Rose picked up the nearest thing—a shoe—and threw it at him before she turned and walked out of his dormitory.


	8. There's Always Next Year

**Chapter 8: There's Always Next Year**

The following weekend, Rose was walking through Hogwarts Castle in her favorite style—in a tight embrace with Scorpius. Her arm around his waist and his arm around her shoulders was now their most frequent way of walking together, and Rose loved every moment of it. At that moment, however, Rose was trying to console Scorpius.

"It's all right," she said with a small smile. "There's always next year…"

"I won't _be_ here next year!" Scorpius whined.

"Oh…" she said. "Right." Scorpius sighed dramatically and Rose resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Only a few hours before, Gryffindor had won the Quidditch final, and Scorpius was wallowing in misery over it. Most of his misery was fake and intended to make Rose comfort him, but he truly was upset at his team's loss in his last year as captain.

They walked along in silence for a while when Rose finally said, "I hate to do this to you, but I have to go…"

Scorpius frowned and pulled her to him so that he could wrap both his arms around her shoulders. She brought her arms around his waist. "I thought I had you all to myself tonight," he said as he nuzzled her hair.

"Well, that was when I thought Slytherin would win the final," she said teasingly. "Now I don't want to spend time with a loser like you." Scorpius tried to look offended, but he only laughed in the process. "No," she continued with a laugh. "I have to go to the Gryffindor victory party."

"Wow," Scorpius said in a fake hurt voice. "Which is worse? Your insults or your celebration of my failure?" Rose laughed. "Well, can't I come with you?"

Rose gaped. "Are you kidding? I don't think anyone from Gryffindor wants to see Public Enemy Number One right now—"

"But my team lost!" Scorpius said. "They should love me!"

Rose smiled and shook her head. "Well, I don't think James would want to see you there."

Scorpius was suddenly serious. "He can keep hating me, but he has to get over my relationship with you, especially now that we're a real couple."

Rose stopped walking and sucked in her breath as she stared at Scorpius. _A real couple_, she ran the words through her head over and over in the span of just a few seconds. Ever since their afternoon in Scorpius's dormitory, Rose had been wondering what exactly she and Scorpius were. She was afraid to ask for fear that the answer would not be one she wanted to hear, but she desperately wanted and needed to know the truth. All signs had pointed to them being a real couple—for the last few days they had kissed regularly (and in public), they had spent as much time together as possible, and Rose had even—ahem—pleasured Scorpius in their secluded spot in the library. All of this had happened in just a few days, but Rose had still refused to talk things out with Scorpius. Now, it seemed, they didn't need to do much talking.

"A—a real couple?" Rose stuttered.

Scorpius smiled. "Yeah." He turned to face her and walked slowly towards her. He brought one arm around her waist and pulled her close, and he used the other hand to play with a strand of her hair. "What did you think?"

"Well, I… I didn't know," Rose said quietly. She was looking at his chest and playing with a loose thread on his shirt.

Scorpius brushed his hand gently across Rose's cheek and brought his hand below her chin. He used his hand to lift her head up to look at him. Seeing her so vulnerable drove Scorpius wild with need. He brought his mouth down to hers and pressed their lips together. Rose responded with a sigh and quickly opened her mouth against his. They had shared several kisses since the afternoon a few days ago, but somehow this one was different—there was more passion and emotion involved—and when Rose pulled out of the kiss and took Scorpius's hands in hers, she could feel that his hands were shaking. He tilted his head down and rested his forehead against hers as they stood there hand in hand with their bodies pressed against each other. After several moments, Rose took a step back, although she kept her hands in Scorpius's.

"I'll see you tomorrow morning," she said with a smile.

"Can't I just come with you?" Scorpius whined.

Rose sighed. "I'm sorry Scorpius. Just… It's just not time yet."

Scorpius grunted in frustration and dropped Rose's hands. "Fine," he said with a shrug. "I'm sure everyone in Slytherin is commiserating over some bottles of mead that I would love to get my hands on." He turned around so that his back was to her. "Not that they want to see me anyway," he said as he folded his arms across his chest. Rose smiled to herself and walked over to him. She wrapped her arms around him from behind and rested her head against his back. She felt the tenseness in his back relax, and she kissed his back gently before she spoke.

"I'm sure your house still adores you," she said. "You've been their hero over and over again, and I'm sure they wouldn't forsake you now." Scorpius brought his hands up and placed them on Rose's arms that were around him. He caressed her arms as she spoke. "And as for James… Well, he'll come around soon."

They stayed in the same position for another few moments before Scorpius wrapped his hand around one of Rose's wrists and pulled her around to face him. He brought both hands to the sides of her face and captured her mouth in a deep kiss. After the kiss broke apart, Scorpius said, "Okay. I'll see you tomorrow then." He gave her one last small kiss before she turned and walked toward Gryffindor tower.


	9. Blonde and Black Haired Babies

_Thank you for the reviews! Please keep them coming! I'll definitely need to know what you think after this chapter. This is a quick update, but not a terribly short chapter. Enjoy!_

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><p><strong>Chapter 9: Blonde and Black Haired Babies<strong>

Rose smiled all the way back to Gryffindor Tower, and when she entered the portrait hole to the sound of raucous laughter and shouts, she laughed right before she let out a small scream when she felt strong arms lift her up from behind.

"I was wondering when you would be back, baby girl" Albus said when he dropped her and let her turn around to face him. As they walked further into the common room, Rose could tell that Albus was already significantly impaired from whatever liquid was mixed in with the bowl of pumpkin juice sitting on a table in the middle of the room. She smiled broadly as he spoke. "Saying good night to _Scorpius_?" he said. He used his best impression of a female voice when he said 'Scorpius.'

"As a matter of fact, I was," Rose said as she poured herself a glass of the spruced up pumpkin juice. She took a large gulp and made a face at the taste before she spoke again. "He said we're a real couple," she said, looking down into her cup.

"What?" Albus shouted. The noise in the room was at such a high volume, however, that no one seemed to notice. Albus yanked the cup out of Rose's hand and set both of their cups down before he grabbed Rose into a sweeping bear hug. Rose laughed and screamed as Albus spun them around. "Oh, Rosie!" Albus said after he put her down and rested his hands on her shoulders. "I'm so happy for you."

"Thanks, Al," Rose said with a broad smile. "I'm so happy for myself." She felt practically giddy.

"So, the deal's off?" he asked.

Rose laughed. "Well, I think so…" Rose made a face of fake confusion. "We didn't really talk about it…" Albus laughed and hugged her again. "Well!" Rose continued. "How are things with you and Poppy?"

Albus sighed contentedly. "Better than ever," he said.

"Where is she?" Rose said, glancing around the room.

"Little witches' room," Albus said with a nod.

Rose laughed and talked with Albus a little bit more before she joined him in the middle of the room where several Gryffindors were dancing and having a good time. It went on like that for a while, with everyone enjoying the atmosphere of the Gryffindor win. During this whole time, however, Rose could not stop thinking about Scorpius. She thought about his mouth on hers and the burning sensation it left behind. She thought about what he had said and how they were now a real couple. She also thought of how all this started with a stupid letter from her mother that had told her to stay away from Scorpius. Little did her mother know that that very letter had pushed Rose into the arms of the one man her mother hoped she would stay away from. Rose could not help but smile at the thought.

Currently, Rose was dancing with a fifth year boy who was good friends with her brother, and she could feel the effects of the spiked pumpkin juice. After the song ended, she stumbled over to the punch bowl and ran into her cousin, James.

"Rose!" he shouted. James was also in a very celebratory spirit and was far more impaired than Rose. "Come here, honey," James slurred. He pulled Rose toward him and she smiled sloppily at him as he began to speak. "I am so sorry, Rose… For… EVERYTHING."

"James—"

"No, Rose, let me finish. I gotta say this," he said, holding up a hand. "I should have never tried to butt into your life, and you know," he said as he wagged a finger in her face. "I think you and Scorpius make a very handsome couple… You're like my sister, Rose, and all I want for my brothers and sisters is for them to be safe and happy. I just wanted to protect you, but in the process, I made you hate me." James pouted.

"James, you listen to me." Now it was Rose's turn to wag her finger. "I could never hate you in a million years. You're the only big brother I've got, and I love you so much it's not even funny. I know you were just looking out for me, and that just makes me love you even more." Rose paused only briefly. "I don't expect you to be best mates with Scorpius, just… I don't know, just don't hate him anymore. Please?"

"Rose." James cupped Rose's face in his hands. "I will try my hardest to stop hating Malfoy. That is my promise to you." He flashed her a goofy grin right before he planted a wet kiss on her cheek. Rose smiled and pulled James into a tight hug. "Where is Malfoy, by the way?" James asked when they broke apart.

"Well, I didn't think he should come!" Rose squealed.

"Oh, why not?" When Rose gave James an odd look, he laughed loudly. "No, tell him to come on over! I'm sure people would love to see the man who helped us win the cup!" James laughed again and patted Rose on the shoulder before he turned around and walked across the room.

Rose smiled as she stood by the pumpkin juice table. Then she made up her mind.

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><p>Scorpius was sitting in the Slytherin common room on a short sofa in a stupor. Like he had predicted, several Slytherins had gotten some very strong beverages in order to curb the feelings of dread after their loss. Scorpius had had quite a bit to drink and was now sitting lazily on the couch, staring into the empty fireplace. Around him, people were yelling and dancing and toasting to the downfall of Gryffindor. Scorpius smiled to himself as he stared blankly and was happy to hear that Gryffindor was still the enemy instead of him.<p>

As he sat on the sofa, he began to think of Rose, and the goofy smile that was already on his face spread a bit further. He thought of how she had lost control at his doing, and how he had lost similar control at her doing in the library just two days later. He thought of her hair and her milky skin and the way she trembled any time he got near her. He thought of how when she was away from him, all he did was think about her and when he would be able to see her next. It almost frightened him how much he wanted her. He had never wanted anyone so badly in his life, and he did not know how he should feel about that. Sometimes he embraced it, other times he was confused by it, and still other times it terrified him.

Scorpius continued to think only good and happy thoughts about Rose when Vermillia VanOffen, a fellow Slytherin seventh year girl came and sat down next to him. She was almost as impaired as Scorpius, but not quite.

"Hey, Scorp," she said when she sat down.

"Vermillia!" Scorpius jumped a little bit when she sat down. He had been so lost in his own thoughts and the drinks that he had had that when she sat down she gave him quite a scare. "What's going on?"

Vermillia laughed and flashed a pretty smile. She had long, blonde, wavy hair, and vibrant green eyes. She was slightly pudgy, but she was still incredibly attractive and charming. She was wearing slim, form fitting, muggle jeans, and a stylish baggy top to go with them. When she sat down next to Scorpius, she left about a foot of distance between them. Scorpius and Vermillia had been good friends since before first year. Her parents were friends of the family, and Vermillia and Scorpius had played together as children.

Leaning back against the couch and mirroring Scorpius's position, Vermillia said, "I just wanted to ask you about you and Rose Weasley," she said. "Is that for real?"

Scorpius smiled and looked at the fireplace. "So real, V," Scorpius said. "I mean, it's like nothing I've ever felt before. She's just awesome and beautiful and smart, and… she knows how to use her mouth."

"Scorpius!" Vermillia said with a shocked look on her face, although she laughed a moment later. Scorpius just shrugged and laughed, and he and Vermillia sat and chatted about him and Rose for a few more minutes. She asked when it had started and how serious it was, and she asked what her parents and his parents would think about it. When he asked what she thought about it, Vermillia merely shrugged.

"I don't really care," she said. "I thought it was weird at first, and I'll admit I was a little annoyed because, of course, I always imagined you and I getting married and ending up with lots of little blonde and black haired babies running around…" Scorpius knew that Vermillia was only kidding. Vermillia and he had tried out a relationship once, but they had both agreed that they were better as friends. Scorpius had also heard on very good authority that she had a thing for his housemate, Dorian. "But I'm cool with it." She paused before she said, "I know a lot of people aren't though… People have been talking and whispering and they think it isn't right."

"Well, you're the only one I care about," Scorpius said playfully as he reached over and played with a strand of her hair. "You know, your hair reminds me a lot of Rose's," Scorpius slurred. "Hers is shorter and redder," he said as he continued to look at her hair as he twirled it in his hand, "But the waves and the shine…" Vermillia giggled as Scorpius played with her hair.

"Scorpius, stop," she said, pushing his hand away.

"Oh, you don't want Dorian to see?" Scorpius said. He glanced over his shoulder and noticed that Dorian was staring over at them. When Scorpius caught his eyes, Dorian looked away quickly.

"Shh! Scorpius, how do you know about that?" Vermillia whispered.

Scorpius laughed. "You both aren't exactly coy," he said. "What's taking you so long anyway? I know he likes you."

"I don't know," Vermillia shrugged, and looked away from Scorpius. She folded her arms in front of herself and looked suddenly very put out.

"Well, I have an idea," Scorpius said. He leaned up from the sofa a bit too quickly and felt severely dizzy for a moment. Vermillia laughed at the look on his face and waited for him to regain his composure. "What do you say we just leave this party for a few minutes? We'll walk outside the house for a little while and make people think we're up to no good, and when we come back, Dorian will be extremely jealous."

Vermillia laughed. "Do you think it will work?"

"I know guys, and I know Dorian," Scorpius said with a fake solemn nod. "I know it will work."

At that, Scorpius stood up and attempted to get his balance right before he reached out a hand for Vermillia. She took his hand with a smile and stood up, allowing Scorpius to guide her out of the common room. They could each feel the stares on them as they walked out, and each of them smiled triumphantly. When they got outside, Scorpius dropped Vermillia's hand and they began to walk through the dungeons.

"It's kind of scary down here at night," Vermillia said as they walked along. They continued to walk along for quite some time. They spent that time catching up on things they had not talked about in a while. They talked about their families. Vermillia had a younger brother, Vinson, who was in his third year at Hogwarts. Scorpius was an only child—both of his parents were as well, so he had no cousins—and he talked about how jealous he was of Rose and her big family. Vermillia suggested that one day Scorpius might be a part of that family, but Scorpius quickly changed the subject.

After a while, Scorpius and Vermillia made their way back toward Slytherin House. Scorpius was still very inebriated, as was Vermillia—though slightly less so—and he said he needed to get back and lay down. As they approached Slytherin House, Vermillia talked about Dorian.

"I don't know why he won't ask me to be his girlfriend," she sighed. "We fooled around once, and I'm worried that he's not going to bother now that he's had me already." Her drunken emotions started to shine through and her voice started to rise slightly. "And I know I'm not the prettiest—"

"I think you're beautiful," Scorpius interrupted.

"You do?" Vermillia stopped and turned to face Scorpius. They were just a few feet away from the entrance to

Slytherin House. Scorpius faced her.

"Of course I do," he said seriously. "Dorian is an idiot," Scorpius said as he reached up and began to play with her hair again. "He has no idea how lucky he would be to have someone like you, and if he can't see it, then he doesn't deserve you."

Scorpius brought a hand to the side of Vermillia's face and she looked up at him with tears in her eyes. When one tear fell, Scorpius wiped it away with his thumb. Their faces were only inches from each other's, and when Vermillia leaned in, Scorpius responded. He brought his lips to hers and kissed her lightly. Vermillia opened her mouth and responded desperately and eagerly to his kiss. He brought both hands to the side of her face and kissed her deeply.

He did not know why he did it. Maybe he just wanted to make Vermillia feel better—feel beautiful. Maybe he was just too impaired to know what exactly he was doing. Maybe—somewhere deep down—it was his defense mechanism against his fear about his relationship with Rose and how much he wanted her. Or maybe it was all of this. Either way, Scorpius backed Vermillia against the wall behind her and continued to kiss her, until—

"Scorpius?"

Scorpius pulled away from Vermillia quickly and sloppily and wiped a bit of saliva that had dripped onto his chin when he recognized that voice. He turned to face Rose, who was standing a little ways away from the entrance to Slytherin House looking hurt and confused and angry. Scorpius walked towards Rose.

"Rose, I—"

When he got close enough to her and reached out his hand to touch her, she slapped it away.

"Don't touch me," she hissed. Rose saw Vermillia try to go into Slytherin House undetected, but Rose called out, "No, don't go, Vermillia. I'm leaving. You guys can continue what you started."

"Rose, don't—"

"Don't what, Scorpius?" Rose said angrily, her voice getting progressively louder with each word. "Don't what, exactly?"

"Don't do this… you don't want to do this," Scorpius said quietly. He tried to reach out for her again, but she pushed him away as hard as she could.

"How dare you!" Rose screamed. "You know what I didn't want, Scorpius? I didn't want to come down here and see you in a lip-lock with _her_! I didn't want to put my heart and my relationships with my family on the line for you, only to get my heart stomped on!" Rose stepped forward so that she and Scorpius were only a foot from each other. "I—" Rose's voice broke and tears formed in her eyes. "I came down here for you," she said as her voice dropped back to its regular volume. "James apologized, and I felt bad for saying you couldn't come to the party. I felt bad thinking about how you were down here all alone wallowing in self-pity over your loss today, but little did I know that you had all the comfort you needed!" Rose gestured toward Vermillia, who was standing behind Scorpius, looking down at her feet, red faced. Rose wiped away her tears angrily before she continued. "I can't believe I did this." She turned away and shook her head. Scorpius reached out and put a hand on her arm, and Rose turned around quickly and knocked it away. "I said don't touch me!" she raised her voice again. "You don't get to touch me—"

"I'm sorry, Rose—"

"Yeah? I'm sorry, too. I'm sorry that I made that arrangement with you in the first place, I'm sorry that you turned out just how everyone warned me you would, I'm sorry I came down here, and I'm sorry I fell for you…" At those last words, Rose could no longer control her emotions. Her voice broke, and the tears were streaming from her eyes as her voice came out in choked sobs. "This," she moved her hand back and forth to point from herself to Scorpius, "is over. Everything… is over."

All Scorpius could do was watch her go. As he stood there next to Vermillia and watched as Rose walked away from him, his body began to shake uncontrollably. He turned and leaned his back on the wall he had had Vermillia against only a few minutes ago, and he sank to the floor. Vermillia sat next to him and tried to comfort him as he wept. Eventually, he told her that she should go, and when she did, Scorpius realized how completely and utterly alone he truly was.


	10. For Services Rendered

_Thank you for the reviews! I'm so happy that many of you seem to be enjoying this story. Keep reading and reviewing!_

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><p><strong>Chapter 10: For Services Rendered<strong>

"Rose! Rose, please talk to me. I said I was sorry—"

Scorpius was cut off by the portrait of the Fat Lady swinging shut in his face. It had been a full week since Rose had caught him kissing his friend Vermillia outside of the Slytherin House, and for that entire week, Scorpius had endured nothing but silence from Rose. Scorpius rested his head against the wall next to the portrait of the Fat Lady and placed his hand on the right side of the portrait. Rose stood on the other side of the entrance to Gryffindor Tower with her back against the other side of the portrait, panting slightly. She would not even so much as look at Scorpius, let alone speak to him or be around him for more than five minutes, but this did not stop her body from trembling and breathing several shaky breaths after hearing Scorpius call her name. Even if she wouldn't look at him or talk to him, his mere presence still sent chills throughout Rose's entire body. No matter what he had done, he still had that affect on her. Scorpius—deservedly so—was miserable. He knew that what he had done was unforgiveable, but that still did not stop him from begging for Rose's forgiveness. She was still angry now, but the peak in her anger with Scorpius had happened at breakfast the day after Rose caught him…

_Scorpius petted the brown and white owl that flew in front of him while he ate breakfast. He looked at the package the owl had delivered curiously. It was a small sack with a note attached, and when Scorpius untied it, he heard the unmistakable clanking of coins. He gave the owl a bit of toast before it flew away, and then opened the sack. His eyes opened wide with shock when he saw a significant amount of galleons in the small brown bag. After he fingered the coins lightly, he opened the note that had been attached to the bag. _

For services rendered.

-R

"_Oh, my god," Scorpius muttered to himself. He could not believe it. Rose had given him what she owed him up until now for their arrangement. Although he knew she had every right to be angry, that did not stop his own anger from creeping up inside of him at Rose for doing something like this. Yes, he knew her anger was justified, but he thought it was unfair that she would demean their relationship in this way. He glanced up and looked at the Gryffindor table. He noticed that Rose was looking a little too intently at her plate of food. She undoubtedly had seen Scorpius open the note and was now avoiding his gaze. He stared hard at her, willing her to look up at him, but she did not. After another few minutes, she said goodbye to her cousins, brother, and friends, and exited the Great Hall. Scorpius did not hesitate before he followed her. _

"_What the hell is this, Rose?" Scorpius called after her. She had reached the first step of the staircase that led to Gryffindor Tower, and Scorpius was just outside the Great Hall. _

"_Piss off, Scorpius," Rose said. She did not turn to face him but had only paused briefly before continuing up the stairs. Scorpius ran after her and grabbed her by the arm in order to turn her to face him. "What—"_

"_What is this?" he said, holding up the bag of coins and the note with the hand that was not holding onto Rose's arm. _

"_It's what I owe you," she said as she maneuvered herself from Scorpius's grip. _

"_You owe me nothing—"_

"_You're right about that," Rose interjected. Her voice was expressionless and her face was deadpan. She was determined not to show Scorpius any emotion. "But I stick to my word. When I say something, I mean it. I said I would pay you, and I have—"_

"_But I broke the rules," Scorpius said. He wanted to make Rose feel something—whether it was sadness, happiness, or rage—he wanted her to express something to him. "I… I touched you, and I kissed you, and I… I fell in love with you—"_

"_Fuck you, Scorpius," Rose said venomously. "You don't get to say that to me. You don't get to stand there with puppy dog eyes and tell me you love me after what you did to me." Rose turned to go, but after a moment, she turned back angrily. "But you know, you didn't really do anything to me. I told you that you could date other people while the arrangement was going on, so really you didn't do anything wrong. I don't even know why I'm angry. But I'm done. I don't want to do it anymore. And since I ended our agreement, I'll pay you everything I owe you up until now."_

_Scorpius clenched his jaw. "I know it was more to you than that." Scorpius's voice was shaking with emotion. He knew that Rose was only saying these things in order to hurt him the same way he hurt her, but he wanted her to stop. He couldn't take any more of her expressionless voice pretending like what they had had meant nothing to her. He wanted her to slap him and punch him and scream at him, as long as she told him she loved him after. "We both know that this became more than just a stupid arrangement to piss off your family—"_

"_It wasn't, Scorpius," Rose hissed through clenched teeth. "I just wanted to prove to my family that I can do what I want, and I did. So, your services are no longer required."_

"_Rose—"_

"_Enough, Scorpius," she said as she turned her back to him and began walking up the staircase once more. "I'll see you around."_

_As Scorpius watched Rose go, he realized he had never felt so empty in his life. He was angry and sad and miserable, but most of all, he was scared. This feeling of emptiness completely and utterly terrified him, and as much as he tried to overcome it, it would not go away, and he felt the empty space growing ever more vast with each step that Rose took away from him. As Rose continued to climb the stairs, she held in her sobs as the tears slid quietly down her face. _

Now, Scorpius was standing outside Gryffindor Tower, staring at the portrait of the Fat Lady who was staring back at him. He had tried for a week since then to get Rose to talk to him, but after that, she had said nothing more. Although he hated her expressionless voice when he had last spoken to her, he would have greatly preferred that to the silence he was experiencing now.

Right after the Fat Lady said, "Well, are you going to give me the password or not?" her portrait swung open, and for a moment, Scorpius thought that Rose had come back, so he was surprised to see her cousin Albus come barreling out of the portrait hole instead. Scorpius opened his mouth to speak but before he could say anything, Albus had grabbed two fistfuls of his school robes and had slammed him against the nearest wall.

"Albus—"

"Stay away from her, Malfoy," Albus grunted angrily as he put one of his hands around Scorpius's throat. "You messed up and you can't fix it, she doesn't want to see you, and if I see you trying to talk to her again, I'll kill you." Albus gave Scorpius's throat one rough squeeze and then pushed Scorpius against the wall roughly before he turned and walked away. Scorpius breathed deeply and coughed lightly when Albus released him. Scorpius wanted to call after him. He wanted to talk to Albus and explain to him that he loved Rose and that he couldn't imagine his life without her. From what Rose had told him, he knew Albus was a romantic and that he would understand, but Scorpius could not find the words. All he could do was clutch his throat and stare after Albus as he watched him recede behind the Fat Lady once more.

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><p>If Scorpius thought that would be his last encounter with a member of Rose's family that day, he was dead wrong. Although Rose and Albus had managed to keep what Scorpius had done a secret from James (they had told him she just didn't like the strain it put on her relationships with her family members), James had finally gotten the information out of his younger sister, Lily, right before dinner that night. Just as Scorpius was about to enter the Great Hall, he felt a strong hand wrap around his bicep and whip him around before knuckles met his face. Scorpius closed his eyes, clutched his face, and stumbled back a bit before he was met with another hard punch across the other side of his face. With this hit, Scorpius fell to the ground and felt a body straddle him. When he was finally able to focus, he saw James Potter right before another blow landed on his jaw. Scorpius tried to block the hits with his arms, but it was difficult, especially due to the pure rage that was driving James. Scorpius could feel the blood pooling into his throat from his nose that was certainly broken as James continued to hit him, and it began to choke him before he heard,<p>

"James!"

"James!"

Rose and Albus were walking down together for dinner when they saw the spectacle before them. Several people had gathered around to watch James beat up Scorpius, and Rose and Albus had to maneuver through people before they could get to James. When they finally reached him, he was still swinging his fists as they pulled him off of Scorpius. As Albus held his brother back and attempted to calm him down, Rose rushed over to the bruised and bloodied Scorpius who was now lying nearly unconscious on the ground.

"Oh, god…" she whispered. She lifted him so that he was sitting up on the ground with his legs spread out in front of him. He coughed several times and blood spewed out of his mouth. He had trouble sitting up and nearly fell back to the ground again, but Rose held him up. "You're okay, Scorpius," she whispered as she used several spells to clean the blood off of him and fix his broken nose. Before she could get the last of the blood off of him, however, Professor Longbottom and Headmistress McGonagall came rushing out of the Great Hall.

"What happened here?" McGonagall shrieked. She rushed over to a dizzy and barely coherent Scorpius who was making circular motions with his upper body and threatening to fall back again. She looked at the blood on his robes and face, and when she looked over and saw Albus holding James back and the blood on James's knuckles, her eyes bulged with anger. "Are you responsible for this, Potter?" she yelled. Professor Longbottom walked over to Rose and Scorpius as both James and Albus looked up at McGonagall.

"Not you, Albus!" McGonagall shouted. "James! Did you attack this boy?"

"Yes," he said through clenched teeth and with narrowed eyes. Shocked by his lackadaisical attitude about the crime he had just committed, McGonagall blanched.

"Detention every day for the rest of the year!" she screamed. "You're lucky I don't expel you!" At that, she turned and stomped over to Scorpius. Always one for fairness, she said, "And detention for a week for you, Malfoy." When he looked up at her confusedly, she said, "I don't know who started this fight, and I don't know what happened. Obviously, you were the loser here, which is the only reason you're not getting detention for the rest of the year as well." Then, she stormed into the Great Hall.

"He should probably get to the hospital wing, Rose," Professor Longbottom said quietly to Rose. "It looks like his cheek bone might be broken and maybe his jaw, and I'm not very comfortable with healing spells."

Rose nodded and said, "Thanks, Uncle Neville." After Professor Longbottom turned and reentered the Great Hall, Rose tried to pick up Scorpius on her own. Scorpius helped her by attempting to stand up with her help, but the blows to his head had been much too significant, and he collapsed against her. "Oh!" she said when he fell against her. She turned to Albus. "Can you help me?" she pleaded. Albus finally released James and walked over to help Rose.

"I can't believe either of you are helping him," James said angrily. "After what he did to you—"

"That's between Scorpius and me," Rose shot back. Rose released Scorpius into Albus's arms and Albus grunted briefly as Rose walked over to James. "Why did you do that, James?" Rose scolded.

"Because he broke your heart," James said as if he was shocked that she was not grateful.

"Yeah, I know he did," Rose said quietly. There were still several spectators watching although McGonagall had attempted to shoo them off before she had reentered the Great Hall. Albus said, "Go on, there's nothing to see here!" right before Rose continued. "But that doesn't mean you can turn into a caveman. The whole reason I got with Scorpius to begin with was to prove to all of you that I can run my own life." Although the other lookers-on had left, Albus, Scorpius, Rose, James, Hugo and Lily (who had both come up to the fight after McGonagall was assigning James detention) still remained. James looked slightly shocked when Rose revealed why her relationship with Scorpius had started, but he let her continue. "I know you want to look out for me, and I appreciate it—I really do—but after last weekend when we talked, James, I thought you understood that I can make my own decisions. I can deal with Scorpius on my own, and although I love you all, I don't need you to interfere or fight my battles for me."

"I just want to protect you," James said.

Rose walked toward him and put a hand on his shoulder. "I know you do, James, but sometimes I just have to protect myself." They looked at each other for a few seconds before James pulled her into a hug. Rose was frustrated with James, but she was tired of fighting. All of her angry energy had been drained since she had focused it so heavily on Scorpius, and she just didn't want to fight with James anymore. The hug broke apart when Albus cleared his throat loudly.

"I don't mean to break up this sweet moment, but can we take this lump to the hospital wing?" Albus looked down at Scorpius who was hanging in Albus's arms, looking at James and Rose somewhat blankly. Rose smiled at James and waved goodbye to Lily and Hugo before she joined Albus. They each put one of Scorpius's arms around their shoulders and began to walk him up the stairs.

"Rose…" Scorpius said.

"Don't talk to me, Scorpius," Rose said, suddenly returning to her icy demure. Scorpius obeyed and kept his mouth shut for the rest of the walk to the hospital wing. Neither Albus nor Rose said anything either. When they finally got to the hospital wing, Scorpius thanked Rose and Albus, neither of whom said anything after they helped Madam Pomfrey get him into a bed and exited the wing. For what felt like the millionth time in a week, Scorpius was alone.


	11. Free to Go

**Chapter 11: Free to Go**

The next morning, Scorpius woke up in the hospital wing with a splitting headache and a bandage wrapped around his head. He also had a bandage on his cheek, nose, and jaw, and two of his fingers were bound together. When he opened his eyes, his vision was blurred for a moment. He closed his eyes again when the sunlight hit his eyes, causing his head to pound. After another few minutes with his eyes closed, Scorpius forced open his eyes once again, and he let in a sharp intake of breath when he noticed his surroundings. On a chair next to his bed, Rose was curled up with her knees bent and her arms around her legs and her head resting in her knees as she slumbered peacefully.

After Madam Pomfrey had fixed up Scorpius's injuries, applied ointment to his bruises, and given him a heavy sleeping draught, Rose had returned to make sure that Scorpius was all right. As he slept, she sat by his bed and cried. While she watched him sleep, all she could think about was how much she loved him and how badly he had hurt her. She hadn't allowed herself to cry since it happened, and on that night as Scorpius slept in the hospital wing and she sat by his side, she allowed herself to be overcome completely. Rose had meant to leave the hospital wing before Scorpius woke up, but all of her crying had exhausted her so much that she slept later than she had intended.

Now, Scorpius was watching her sleep. She looked so incredibly beautiful, as always, and Scorpius had the greatest desire to reach out a hand and brush the hair from her face. He knew that after she woke up, she would hate him again, so as much as he could, he tried to imagine that he had never done what he did and that things between Rose and him were better than ever. He tried to imagine that Rose would wake up and be so excited to see him, but he knew that when she did, everything would be as it was, and her hatred for him would be as fresh as ever. So, he willed her to stay asleep, and he watched her slumber.

"Ah, Mr. Malfoy," Madam Pomfrey said suddenly as she walked out of her office. "You're awake." He tried to signal her to be quiet, but she only looked at him confusedly before he saw Rose's head jolt up suddenly. Rose then stood up as if to leave, but Madam Pomfrey came to his rescue. "Miss Weasley, just a moment. I'm going to check Mr. Malfoy's injuries, and if he is ready, I would like for you to escort him back to Slytherin House." Rose sank back into her chair and watched as Pomfrey removed Scorpius's bandages. The entire time she checked his injuries, Scorpius stared at Rose who was staring at the ground. "All right, Mr. Malfoy, everything looks good. You suffered some pretty bad blows to the head, though, so take it easy for a while. But other than that, you're free to go." She gave him a small pat on the shoulder before she turned and walked back into her office.

"Rose—"

"Just hurry up and gather up your things so I can get you down to the dungeons," Rose said as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"No." Scorpius finally had Rose cornered. Pomfrey had ordered Rose to take him down to his House so as long as he stayed here, Rose would not leave without him for fear of a scolding from Pomfrey.

"Come on," she said angrily.

"No, listen. I just have to say this, and then we can go." Scorpius sat up straighter in his bed and gestured for Rose to sit back down in her chair. Rose only crossed her arms tighter across her chest and stared at him. Scorpius sighed and took out his wand. Rose looked at him as he brought the curtains around his bed closed and cast a silencing charm so Pomfrey would not hear them. Mostly, he was afraid that Rose would start to yell and that Pomfrey would come and scoot them out before he got a chance to say everything he wanted to say. "Rose…" he began. His voice was already shaking from nerves. All he wanted was for Rose to listen and understand him, and he was so afraid that he would mess it up. If someone had told him two months ago that he would have been in this position, he would have never believed it. But here he was. "I am so sorry. I'll never know why I did what I did. I'm not going to try and make excuses or anything, but I just want you to know what happened."

"I saw what happened pretty clearly, Scorpius," Rose interrupted.

Scorpius held up his hands in surrender and said, "Okay, yes, I know what you saw, but I want to explain what happened before that and what was going on in my head." When Rose clenched her jaw in response, he continued. "First of all, I'd had too much to drink. Everyone in my house just kept bringing me drink after drink and I felt so sorry for myself about losing that I just didn't stop. I was just not in a good state of mind, and I was thinking about you, and that was when I realized that I loved you. It scared me, Rose," Scorpius said, shaking his head and looking at his feet. "You have this… affect on me… And I don't know, I guess it just freaked me out. Then Vermillia—" Rose made a noise at the mention of her name, but Scorpius continued. "She came over and we were talking, and I knew she liked Dorian, so we left to make him jealous." Rose rolled her eyes.

"Mature," she said.

Scorpius smiled briefly. "I know it was foolish, but we had both been drinking, so… I don't know." Scorpius shrugged. "Anyway, when we were walking back she just… She was feeling really bad about herself. He hadn't made a real move yet and she was saying she was ugly, so I wanted to make her feel better." Scorpius looked over at Rose desperately. "I don't know why I did it, Rose! I don't have any feelings for her. I don't know, I'm not really good with words, so maybe that was the only way I knew how to make her feel good. I don't know! But I know it was stupid, and I regretted it the moment I put my lips against hers." As Scorpius looked at Rose, he could tell she was trying very hard to hold back tears, but he went on. "I was too messed up that night emotionally and I should not have had anything to drink, but I did. And… I love you, Rose, I do, and if I have to work at it the rest of my life, I won't stop until you know that it's the truth."

Rose's brow was furrowed, but at Scorpius's last words, she uncrossed her arms and let them drop loosely to her sides. She fought desperately to hold back the tears that were so close to the surface. "I can't just forgive you that easily, Scorpius," she said as she let the tears fall. "You broke me… I wanted to believe that we were more than we were, and I was wrong."

"You weren't wrong!" Scorpius sat up and moved to the edge of the hospital bed quickly, causing him to feel slightly dizzy in the process. He grabbed Rose's hands with his own and pulled her a bit closer. "You were right," he smiled sadly. "We were more, and I just made a mistake. I know it was a big mistake, but it was just a mistake that I'll _never_ make again."

"Scorpius…" Rose looked at the ground and shook her head. Scorpius dropped Rose's hands and reached up to cup her face in his hands. He tilted her head up and she looked at him agonizingly. She continued to cry as he pulled her face to his and brought his mouth to hers. Rose hummed briefly as she wrapped her arms around Scorpius's waist and stepped in between his legs. She let out a choked sob as he opened his mouth against hers and she did the same, allowing his tongue to enter her mouth smoothly. She was shaking violently against him, but she was the one who deepened their kiss even further. Suddenly, her kisses became eager and wanting, and all of the emotions she had felt for the past two months came pouring from her. Scorpius responded just as eagerly by pulling Rose against him by her shirt and then lifting the shirt over her head. Rose then pulled off the white t-shirt Pomfrey had given him to change into.

After breathing in and out deeply several times, Rose slammed her mouth against Scorpius's once more. He grunted and pulled her as close to him as she could go. Rose pushed Scorpius back onto the hospital bed, and slipped her pants off before she climbed on top of him. After straddling him, Rose bent down and captured Scorpius's mouth against hers once again. She grinded her hips down against his and he pulled his mouth just slightly away from hers as he gasped. Rose then put her hands on his waist and pulled his hospital style pants down just enough to reveal his erection. Scorpius looked up at her as she positioned herself over him and brought herself down onto him. Rose moaned loudly and Scorpius grunted as he brought his hands to her waist.

Rose then began to ride Scorpius's erection as she tipped her head back and pressed her hands against his chest. He brought her down hard onto him with each of her movements, only increasing the friction between them. Scorpius did not know how it had gotten to this point, but he was glad it had. Rose, on the other hand, knew that this was wrong. She knew she shouldn't be doing this with Scorpius, but she could no longer resist. Since that first night they danced together at the Slytherin party, Rose had wanted to do this, and maybe it shouldn't have been now that she gave into her desires, but she knew she couldn't stop.

After a few more minutes of thrusts, grunts, and moans, Scorpius moved one of his hands from Rose's waist to her sensitive nub, and he began to massage it as he got closer to his peak. Rose cried out in pleasure and lifted her hands above her head. She tipped her head back and brought her hands into her hair as she rode Scorpius and he massaged her sensitive area. She moaned Scorpius's name several times, and when she knew she was close, she bent down and rested her hands on either side of Scorpius's head so she could deepen his thrusts. Rose closed her eyes and put her head against Scorpius's as she got closer and closer. After a few more deep thrusts, finally, Rose began to shake and shudder with orgasm as her walls clenched around Scorpius's length. Rose's orgasm came to a close as Scorpius's began, and after he released himself inside of her, Rose collapsed against him.

The two of them stayed in that position for a few minutes, not saying anything. Both of them were panting heavily, and Rose was still trembling as Scorpius remained inside of her. After a few more moments, without saying a word, Rose slid off of Scorpius and began to dress herself. Then, before Scorpius got a chance to object, she was gone.


	12. I've Already Fallen

_Thank you for all reviews! All questions will be answered in the coming chapters. I have completed this story, and all that is left is editing, so the final chapters should be coming very soon. Enjoy this next chapter!_

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><p><strong>Chapter 12: I've Already Fallen<strong>

"You slept with him?"

"Calm down, Al," Rose sighed. She leaned back on Albus's four-poster bed and stared up at the canopy above her. Albus had just been walking around his area of the room, digging in his trunk, and looking for something when Rose had told him what she came to tell him. When she dropped the bomb on him, he had stopped looking for whatever it was he was looking for, and he now stood gaping at her a few feet away.

"Rose, just yesterday you were cursing his very existence—you said you wished my dad hadn't saved his dad from the Room of Requirement, and now you're saying you slept with him!" Albus threw his hands into the air in frustration.

Rose brought her hands over her face before she put them behind her head and spoke. "Look, I know what I said, and I still stand by it… Well, not the part about Uncle Harry not saving his dad… but everything else. I told you, I don't know what came over me. He…" Rose sighed again. "He's just so sexy, Al, and he had just said all these… things… And I just snapped."

Albus sighed as well and sat on the edge of his bed so that his back was to Rose. "So… now what?"

Rose shook her head. "Now, nothing. It doesn't change what he did, and it doesn't change how I feel about what he did, so now… Now, I go back to acting like he doesn't exist. The further I separate myself from him, the easier it will be for me to get over him."

Albus turned his head so that he was looking at Rose. "You know he's not just going to take that lying down—no pun intended." Rose punched Albus in the arm. "Well, I'm just saying! He's not just going to say, 'Oh, okay, you just had sex with me, but I'll forget about it because you're giving me the silent treatment, and I'll just act like nothing happened.'" Albus shook his head. "You know he's going to fight even harder now."

Rose flipped over on Albus's bed and banged her fists against the pillow beneath her. "I know, Al!" she shouted into his pillow. She turned her head so that she was now resting it on the pillow and Albus could hear her more clearly. "I know he's going to fight even harder, and I know he's not going to give up, but he has to. I'm not going to give him the option."

"Do you really think you can resist his advances for much longer?" Albus asked her. "Especially now."

Rose thought a moment before she said, "Well, he sure knew how to work his hands, and he was pretty big." Albus gaped at his cousin. "Okay, I'm kidding! Well… what I just said is true, but I'm not really going to lose my head because of it." Rose sat up on the bed and swung her legs over the side of the bed so she was sitting right next to Albus. "I'm not going to get hurt again, Al. It was a horrible feeling, and I never want to feel it again. That's what allows me to keep my focus. The memory of that pain."

Albus put an arm around Rose's shoulder and pulled her close. She rested her head on his shoulder. "I'm so sorry he hurt you, Rose," Albus said softly.

"Yeah…" Rose whispered. "Me too."

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><p>Three days later, Rose was sitting in the Ancient Runes classroom, and she tilted her head to the side thoughtfully. Scorpius had kept his distance for the past few days, but that had not stopped him from boring his eyes into her every chance he got. She could feel his eyes on her at meals, in the hallways, in the one class they had together, everywhere. And the look in his eye was fierce and wild. It was as if he could see right through her, or as if he could see underneath her clothing. Rose could feel his eyes on her right now. He was sitting in his usual seat a few rows back from her, and she had been able to feel his eyes since the beginning of the class period. Just a week earlier, she had been cursing the fact that she was a year ahead in Ancient Runes, but now, for some reason she did not quite know, she was happy about it. At first, Rose had found his stares annoying and unsettling, but now, she found them strangely erotic and sensual. She could feel him taking in every curve and angle of her body—the slope of her neck, the curve of her hips, the lines of her legs. And because he had not said anything—or even tried to say anything—to her since that morning a few days ago, it felt like the sexual tension between them was growing stronger and stronger each day. If this was his way of getting Rose to talk to him, it was working; she did not know how much longer she could stay away.<p>

When class was dismissed, Rose lifted her bag onto the table and stood up next to the table as she put her books and things into her bag. When she felt the familiar tingle of someone staring at her, she glanced over and saw Scorpius staring at her before he turned and left the classroom. Rose packed up her things quickly and followed him soon after. When they had each left the classroom, Scorpius had turned in the direction of Slytherin House, and instead of going in the direction of the staircase that went up toward Gryffindor Tower, Rose instead turned in Scorpius's direction and followed him down into the dungeons. Because each of them had fallen back after class, the rest of the Slytherins were significantly ahead of them in the long hallway that they had each just turned into. Rose's breathing pace began to pick up as she followed Scorpius. She knew that he could hear her breathing and the sounds of her footsteps, as she was not far behind him, and she wondered how long it would take until he acknowledged her.

Just when the group of Slytherins in front of them turned down the hallway that Rose knew led to Slytherin House, Scorpius whipped around and faced Rose. Extremely startled, Rose jumped, and began to panic slightly. Although she had made the decision to follow Scorpius, she hadn't planned on what exactly she would do once he turned around.

"Are you following me?" Scorpius said with narrowed eyes.

"Have you been staring at me for the last three days?" Rose responded with equally narrowed eyes.

After several more moments of staring each other down, Rose suddenly gasped when she pushed roughly against the wall behind her. Scorpius's lifted Rose up against the wall and she wrapped her legs around Scorpius's waist and her arms around his neck. Rose tilted her head and closed her eyes, expecting Scorpius's lips to meet hers, but he instead brought his lips right next to her ear. "Did you think I could just forget you and leave you alone after a morning like that in the hospital wing?" he whispered. She shivered at the feeling of his breath against her ear. Rose bit her bottom lip and tilted her head back against the wall when she felt his tongue slide across the outer shell of her ear. "I think you liked my stares," he whispered before he pressed his lips against her neck. Rose sighed and leaned into his mouth. Then, to his surprise and delight, Rose brought her hands to his face and turned him so that she could press her lips against his. He groaned into her mouth and responded to her kiss with force.

Scorpius had been aching for her so badly especially for the past three days, and perhaps this was what caused him to remove each of their school robes so quickly. As Scorpius's tongue roamed the inside of Rose's mouth and she fought back with her own tongue in a battle for dominance, Scorpius pushed Rose's legs off of him. He then undid her slacks very quickly, and as soon as she kicked them off, he grabbed her, lifted her up against the wall, and wrapped her legs around him once more. She could feel his erection pressed against her, and neither of them seemed to be aware of the fact that they were in a hallway that anyone could walk down any minute. Rose was kissing Scorpius and panting heavily as he undid his own pants pulled his erection out of them before thrusting into her quickly. Rose bit back a moan that desperately wanted to escape, and her breathing became quicker and shakier and much more labored.

Not wanting to waste any precious time, Scorpius began to thrust in and out of Rose hard and fast. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer to her as she attempted to meet each of his thrusts with a thrust of her own hips. Because of the seemingly intense foreplay the two of them had apparently been having for the past three days, each of them was already close to their climax. Rose was biting down on her bottom lip so hard in order to hold back her moans that she thought she might draw blood. When Scorpius brought his hand in between them and brushed his finger ever so gently against Rose's nub, she bucked at the touch and clenched her walls around him. At this clenching, Scorpius released himself into Rose and gave her one more final thrust before she shuddered and came against him. Both of them held in the shouts that they needed so badly to release.

Very quickly, Rose pulled her pants back on and Scorpius zipped his up before they each slipped their robes back on, and as soon as they were each fully clothed, Scorpius brought his hand behind Rose's neck and pulled her into a deep kiss. Rose opened her mouth against his and responded with heated passion. After a moment, he pulled away, panting slightly.

"I can't believe we just did this… right here," Scorpius said with a small laugh.

Rose smiled momentarily, but she pushed Scorpius away gently. "It's not going to happen again," she said.

Scorpius laughed. "Yeah, more than once in a hallway is a bit too dangerous for my taste."

Rose shook her head, "No, Scorpius." Rose picked up her bag that she had dropped in her haste to be with Scorpius and began to walk down the hallway. He quickly fell in step with her as she headed toward Gryffindor Tower. "I mean you and me… We aren't going to be with each other again." Scorpius gaped at her, but she continued. "I'm sorry, Scorpius. I know I shouldn't have let this happen again, but you just… You're just so… Well, anyway, it's not going to happen again." Rose carefully avoided looking at Scorpius.

Scorpius stopped walking. "How many more times will I have to let you do something shitty like this to me before you forgive me for what I did?"

Rose's eyes widened, and she stopped and turned to face him so that they were several feet apart. "I hardly think that me sleeping with you and then telling you that we won't do it again is on par with you snogging some slag when you got drunk at a party after saying we were a _real_ couple."

"First of all," Scorpius stepped toward Rose angrily, but she took a step back. "That _slag_ is a good friend of mine. And second of all, I explained what happened, and I have apologized a million times! When will it be enough?" Scorpius took a few steps towards Rose, but this time she held her ground. "You said you were falling for me. Well, I've already fallen, Rose, and when you love someone, you don't toss them aside after they make one mistake. You hold onto them and you try your bloody hardest to prove your love to them every day. I'm trying, Rose. I'm trying to make you forgive me and love me, and I just don't think it's fair that you aren't even willing to give it a try!"

"I gave it a try, Scorpius!" This time, it was Rose's turn to take a step forward. "I opened my heart to you even after every instinct told me not to, and it turned out that my instincts were spot on. I'm not ready to open up again if that means I'm going to get hurt again and again and again."

"Rose…" Scorpius shook his head angrily. "LIFE is about getting hurt!" He stepped forward and grabbed her hands with his own and looked down at her. "Look... I can't promise that I'll never hurt you again, but I can promise that until the day I die, I will try to only make you happy. I'll try my hardest to never make you feel pain, because that's what love is. All you can do is try, and sometimes you're going to fail, but if you don't try, that's much worse than trying and getting hurt. Because if you try, at least you know you gave it your all."

Rose cocked her head to the side and looked at Scorpius strangely. Finally, she said, "I need time." When he opened his mouth to interrupt, she held up a hand. "When Albus said he needed time to think over things about Poppy, you said he should take time—"

"But I also said that he shouldn't wait until it was too late," Scorpius said.

Rose nodded. "And I won't," she said. "Just give me some time and some space."

Scorpius closed his eyes and nodded slowly. Once he opened his eyes again, he said, "I'll give you that… And I'll wait forever if I have to."

Rose smiled a small smile and stood up on her toes to place a soft kiss on his lips. Rose turned to go, and she walked down the hall a few feet before she turned back. "I do forgive you, Scorpius," she said. And then she turned and walked away.

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><p>"My god, Rose."<p>

"Okay, I know this looks bad, Al, but it's different now," Rose said. Rose and Albus were sitting in the Gryffindor common room later that evening having a similar discussion to the one they'd had just a few days earlier. "I want to be with him. I… I know he messed up, and it will take a lot for me to trust him again, but I want to try." Rose leaned across the table they were sitting on opposite ends of and pointed a finger in Albus's face. "Hey, you should be with me on this! You and Poppy had a very similar situation, did you not?"

Albus sighed and did not speak for a moment. "I know… I just worry about you, baby girl."

"I know," Rose said, patting Albus on the hand. "But don't worry. I love him, and he loves me. We'll be okay," she said quietly. Albus smiled at his best friend and new that she was right.


	13. The Room of Secret Wonders

_Thank you so much for all reviews. You don't know how much I love to hear from everyone. I hope you enjoy this next chapter!_

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><p><strong>Chapter 13: The Room of Secret Wonders<strong>

A few days later, Rose was walking with Albus and Poppy down to the Great Hall for dinner. She had been spending more time with Scorpius, but they had kept the contact short and limited to only hand holding—if it even got that far. Rose had wanted to spend more time away from Scorpius, but she found that she could not stay away. So she was in his presence, but she tried to keep physical contact to a minimum. Rose was finding this extremely difficult. No, she did not want to get hurt again, but she also craved to be touched by Scorpius—to just feel his hand on her cheek or his arms around her waist. She was also dying to tell him she loved him, but she kept it all inside, purely out of fear. As Rose made her way down the stairs, she saw a small house elf rushing towards her, Albus, and Poppy.

"Hi, honey!" Poppy said cheerfully.

The house elf bowed deeply toward Poppy but then eagerly turned her attention to Rose. "Miss Weasley," the house elf said squeakily, mimicking the bow she had just given to Poppy. "Mr. Malfoy requests your presence in the Room of Secret Wonders." Rose only stared at the house elf, confused.

"I'm sorry?" she said.

"I think the little dear means the Room of Requirement," Poppy said with a bright smile. Albus raised his eyebrows with as smile. It had taken some coaxing on Rose's part, but Albus was finally open once again to the idea of Rose in a relationship with Scorpius. The house elf nodded eagerly, and Rose looked at Albus and Poppy. "You should go, honey," Poppy said. "Who knows what he's got planned up there for you," she said with a wink. Rose smiled and turned to Albus with a questioning look.

"I know you said you're taking it slow, but…" Albus shook his head with a shrug and a smile. "Love doesn't move at a slow pace. It moves at break neck speed, and we have to struggle to keep up with it. Just go," he finished.

"Are you sure?" she asked them.

"It's not whether we're sure," Poppy said. "It's if you are." Albus and Poppy smiled at Rose. Rose then gave the tiny house elf a tight hug—causing the house elf to jump and shiver happily—before she waved goodbye to them and rushed up to the Room of Requirement.

Rose climbed the stairs toward the Room of Requirement and thought of Scorpius along the way. Her hands were shaking and her knees felt weak already. She had no idea what Scorpius had planned for her in the Room, but she had a feeling it was less than holy. Rose thought of her possible responses to Scorpius's advances. She knew she had a few options. She could tell him 'no' and leave immediately in order to hold true to her wish to keep things slow. She could stay for a little while and keep things innocent before she left. Although this was probably the best option, Rose knew that if she stayed at all, she would not have the will power to leave. So, that left the third and most likely option. She would give in to Scorpius finally and just embrace whatever happened. She knew it was pointless to keep rejecting him, but she was still not quite ready to give in.

_But will you ever be completely ready?_ A voice in her head asked. Rose shook her head. No. No one was ever completely ready to give in to that kind of emotion when there was the potential for pain. But deep down, Rose knew that she could not be completely happy without Scorpius.

When Rose got to the seventh floor where the Room of Requirement was located, she stood outside the door, confused. She did not know what to tell it. She had no idea what Scorpius had planned, so she could not tell the Room anything specific. Rose thought for a moment before she paced back and forth in front of the door three times as she thought, _I need to find Scorpius Malfoy._ After the third go around, Rose stopped outside the place where she knew the door would appear, but nothing happened. Rose sighed in frustration. _Why hadn't Scorpius thought of this?_ She thought angrily. Rose tried to imagine possible things that Scorpius wanted to do in the Room as she paced back in forth, but the door still did not appear. Finally, as a last ditch effort, a thought occurred to Rose. She began to walk in front of the door as she said, _I am Rose Weasley, and I am here to see Scorpius Malfoy._

After the third pace, the door to the Room of Requirement finally appeared. Rose shook her head with a smile, although she was slightly frustrated that she had not thought to reveal herself earlier. After taking a deep breath, Rose gripped the handle on the door and opened it slowly. When she entered the Room, she gasped and covered her mouth.

The Room was decorated with old Victorian style features. Paintings and cloth hangings draped the walls, and the ceiling dipped low with gothic arches. In the middle of the ceiling, there was an enormous, crystal chandelier that was dimly lit but twinkled magically. Right below the chandelier, there was a small circular table that was decorated for a dinner for two. In the center of the table, there was a single white rose, suspended in the air and spinning slowly. Whatever charm Scorpius had used to enchant the rose petal he had given to Rose months ago, he had clearly used the same spell on the rose at their table. The table was in the middle of a large circle of candles, all spaced very closely to each other and giving the room and haunting glow. The beauty of the Room temporarily distracted Rose, and it took her a moment to realize that Scorpius was nowhere to be seen.

"Scor—Oh!" Rose was cut off by strong arms wrapping around her waist from behind. Rose laughed when Scorpius nuzzled her neck and planted kisses along it.

"I'm so glad you came," Scorpius said into her neck. She smelled incredible, and he was trying to take it all in. He squeezed her tighter when she leaned her head down and back against his.

"Of course I came," she said quietly. Scorpius noticed the quiver in her voice, and he released her, not wanting to overwhelm her too soon. Rose released a small sigh of disappointment when Scorpius let go of her, but she just walked over to the table after Scorpius gestured her towards it. He held out her chair, and joined her on the opposite side after she sat down. Scorpius stared at her hungrily, and Rose eventually had to break eye contact when his stare became just a little bit too intense.

Scorpius breathed in deeply and tried to calm himself down, but it was difficult. He was much too elated that things between Rose and him were finally getting back on track. He wanted her already, but he tried his hardest to relax. This could not stop him from staring at her. Because it was a Saturday, Rose was wearing muggle clothes that fit her perfectly. She was wearing a low-cut, tan, v-neck shirt that made her skin look smooth and clear. He freckled chest was heaving slightly, but he tried to keep his eyes out of that direction. Over the shirt she wore a dark purple cardigan sweater that was unbuttoned, and at the moment she was playing the fringe on one of her sleeves. When she had come in, Scorpius had noticed the perfect shape of her behind in her dark, skinny, form-fitting jeans. He felt his mouth begin to water as he thought of cupping her perfect bottom in his hands, but he just licked his lips. Then, he snapped his fingers and food appeared on the plates in front of them.

"I owe those house elves my life," Scorpius said with a smile. Rose laughed lightly.

"Oh, is that so?" she said as she placed her napkin over her lap and began to eat. Scorpius nodded and began to eat his food as well. Then they started to make some brief small talk. Although Rose and Scorpius had already been incredibly intimate with each other, for some reason, each of them felt like they were on a first date—the awkward silences, the sideways glances. Eventually, Rose realized why. It was as if this was a new beginning for them. Rose had not left once she came in, and this had given Scorpius hope beyond measure that their relationship would be better than ever.

"Rose?" Scorpius said hesitantly after a brief moment of silence.

"Hm?" Rose looked up at him.

"Erm…" Scorpius was nervous about what he wanted to say next. He had made up his mind a few hours ago that he wasn't going to say anything, but now he felt like he should. He didn't want to kill the mood, but he also wanted Rose to be able to have some closure. "I—er—I talked to Vermillia this morning…" he said slowly. Rose looked down at her food again and visibly tensed up. "She and Dorian are official… I guess our plan worked," he said with a nervous laugh in an attempt to keep the mood light. Rose looked up at him sharply. "Too soon?" he said weakly. She narrowed her eyes, but the small twinkle in them was barely noticeable. "Well… She wanted me to tell you how sorry she is." The twinkle from Rose's eyes left immediately and she cocked her head to the side in an I-can't-believe-you're-saying-this-to-me kind of way. "She actually wanted to talk to her yourself, but I warned her about your Weasley temper." He smiled. "Look, I just don't want you to hate her, and I want you to know that she's sorry and I'm sorry, and you don't have to worry about anything like that ever happening again. She wanted me to tell you that she was drunk and stupid, and that all I was to her was a mouth. It wasn't _me_ she was kissing, and it wasn't _her_ I was kissing. We were just mouths." Rose looked down at her almost empty plate again and shook her head. "I love _you_, Rose. You may not believe me yet, but I love you… I love you."

Scorpius stared at Rose intently, but she kept her eyes on her plate. After a moment, she mumbled something.

"I didn't hear you," Scorpius said softly.

Rose sighed and said, "I said, 'I love you, too.'"

All of the muscles in Scorpius's face suddenly slackened as he looked at her incredulously. In a flash, he was up from his chair, and he was sweeping Rose up into his arms. She laughed a surprised laugh when he was suddenly holding her like a groom holding his bride over a threshold. Scorpius stepped back, and suddenly, where the table had been, a large bed appeared in the center of the room. Rose gasped.

"Did you do that?" she said with a broad smile. Scorpius only nodded before he laid her on the bed. Scorpius then climbed on top of her and straddled her as he began to slowly remove her clothes. First he lifted her shirt over her head and ran his hands down her stomach. Then, he scooted to the bottom of the bed and slid her jeans off of her. Rose was trembling violently as Scorpius ran his hands all along her skin. He bent down and placed several soft, lingering kisses on her heaving chest. After he pulled his own shirt off, he wrapped his arms around her back and unhooked her bra. Then, after tossing the bra to the floor, he put his fingers into the sides of her panties and pulled them off slowly. Rose could feel herself already becoming wet due to Scorpius's intense, heated, and longing stares at her body.

For the first time, Scorpius was able to see Rose's body fully. The other times they had been intimate, they had each been too eager to remove all of their clothing, but now, Scorpius could see everything. Rose's arms were above her head, and she looked at Scorpius as he looked at her body. Scorpius bent over and slid his body against Rose's until his face reached hers. She leaned up and brought her mouth to his, and he grabbed her arms above her head as he kissed her back. He rubbed himself against Rose's naked body and she squirmed and quaked beneath him as their tongues laced around each other. When Scorpius's mouth moved to her neck, Rose whimpered softly and pushed her hips hard against Scorpius. After leaving a trail of burning kisses down her neck and on her chest, he moved down to one of her breasts and took the hardened nipple into his mouth. Rose moaned and arched against Scorpius, needing and wanting more.

Scorpius teased and flicked Rose's nipple with his tongue and she whined and whimpered against him, already so hot with need. Scorpius then moved over to Rose's other breast and repeated his actions. Her moans were light and breathy, and he wanted so badly to hear more. His member was straining against the inside of his pants, and he desperately wanted to be inside Rose, but he wanted to push her to the brink before they both gave in.

Finally releasing Rose's hands, Scorpius attached them to Rose's hips as he moved down and quickly placed his tongue in between Rose's slick folds. Rose moaned louder this time and bucked her hips against him. He smiled at her actions, and continued to massage her with his tongue. Scorpius slipped his tongue inside her hole before he placed it around her most sensitive area and began to suck hard. Rose moaned and shook against him, and when he slipped a finger inside of her, she nearly screamed. Her moans were shaky, and it seemed like she was trying to catch her breath. Scorpius slipped a second finger inside of her and pumped his fingers in and out of her as he sucked on her as well. He continued this until he brought her to the very edge, and then, suddenly, he stopped. He pulled his mouth away from her and his fingers out of her, and she groaned in frustrated response. She writhed and squirmed on the bed, and brought her hands up to his pants to unbuckle them quickly. Her desire was enough to send Scorpius over the edge, and so he pushed her hands away so he could do away with his pants quicker. When they were finally both nude, Scorpius leaned down and braced himself against the bed before capturing Rose's mouth in a tongue-filled kiss. She pulled his waist down against her and he rubbed his erection against her mound, and she attempted to put him inside of her on her own.

Neither of them could wait any longer, so finally, Scorpius poised himself at Rose's entrance and pushed his length into her down to the hilt. Rose moaned loudly and arched her back. She wrapped her legs around Scorpius's waist in order to push him in even deeper and Scorpius groaned. Scorpius was deep inside of her, but he did not thrust. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him close, and she moved her hips against him, but he put his hands on her hips to stop her.

Then, Scorpius whispered into Rose's ear. "Say it again," he growled.

Rose was already in a haze, and that made her even more confused about what Scorpius was talking about. "What?" she said breathily.

He began to slide out of her agonizingly slow, and when only his tip remained inside of her, he said, "What you said earlier—say it again." Then he pushed slowly back all the way inside of her.

"I love you?" Rose questioned. The words came out in a gasp. In response, Scorpius pulled out of her quickly and slammed back into her, causing her to grunt and moan loudly.

"Again," he growled.

"I love you," Rose moaned, and Scorpius gave her a deep thrust. "I love you," her voice rose and Scorpius slammed into her again. "I love you! I love you! I love you!" Rose shouted as Scorpius thrust into her each time. Then, his thrusts continued and Rose's words quickly became loud moans instead of words. Her moans were high pitched and breathy. She kept her legs wrapped around his waist as he pushed in and out of her. He pinned her hands above her head and grunted with each thrust. Rose clenched tightly around Scorpius as she felt herself getting closer and she could see that he was getting close.

"Scorpius," Rose moaned as he continued to pound in and out of her. She moaned his name several more times, and the sound of it was quickly pushing Scorpius to his peak. With a few more deep thrusts, Scorpius released himself inside of Rose, and she shook violently on the bed as the orgasm flooded over her. She moaned loudly, arched against him, and pushed her hips up as she continued to shake and shudder. Scorpius collapsed against Rose and then rolled off of her as she laid on her back and breathed heavily.

Scorpius was on his stomach with his limbs spread out, and he was staring at Rose's chest moving up and down. Her breasts were so round and firm and delicious, and she had been so wet and ready for him. At those thoughts, Scorpius could feel himself already hardening again.

Neither of them spoke for a few minutes, and Rose finally turned over on her side and stared at Scorpius. He smiled at her, and she smiled back.

"Want to go again?" she asked him as her smile widened. Then Rose pushed Scorpius onto his back and straddled him, and when his mouth opened in surprise, she brought her mouth down and kissed him.


	14. We'll Be Fine

_As always, thanks so much for all reviews. I wanted to respond to **Lulu123**: In my mind, Rose honestly wanted to make him suffer longer, but she was just so in love with him that she legitimately could not hold off. Yes, she should have made him grovel, but her love was too strong. Also, for **semantics**: I like your suggestion about the house elves. This story is already complete and house elves don't make another appearance, but I'm definitely going to consider that for my future stories. I love house elves. Anyway, keep reading and reviewing! This story is coming to a close, but be sure to check out my other stories and my upcoming stories as well. Here is the penultimate chapter. I'm nervous about how you'll feel about it, but I hope you like it. Enjoy!_

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><p><strong>Chapter 14: We'll Be Fine<strong>

_Three Weeks Later_

Rose walked out of Headmistress McGonagall's office. Her eyes were red and puffy from crying the entire night previous and just a little bit in McGonagall's office. Straight from the office, she headed toward the dungeons to meet Scorpius. The next day the train would leave Hogsmeade station and take them back to Platform 9 ¾ at King's Cross. Rose and Scorpius had been trying to spend as much time together as possible because they both knew that spending time in the summer might be difficult because of the ill feelings that were still harbored between their families. Then in September, Rose was to return to Hogwarts for her final year, while Scorpius would begin a career. He had already received an offer to play Quidditch for the Tutshill Tornadoes and an offer to work in the Ministry of Magic's Department of Magical Games and Sports. Knowing that their contact might be limited in the coming year, they were now taking this time to enjoy each other's company completely.

When Rose got down to the dungeons, Scorpius was exiting Slytherin House. "Hey!" he said happily. He then pulled Rose into a tight hug and kissed her lips softly before he pulled away. "What's wrong?" he asked her when he finally got a good look at her face.

Rose smiled. "Nothing," she said.

"Are you worried about next year?" Scorpius asked, taking her hand and walking toward the entrance hall. "Because you shouldn't be. We'll be fine. We'll write and we'll see each other on holidays, and I'm sure it will go by so fast, and we'll be back together before we know it." He gave Rose a loving look and squeezed her hand, but she just looked straight ahead.

"You're right, I know," she said quietly. Suddenly, Scorpius stopped walking and yanked Rose against him. He then cupped her face in his hands and kissed her deeply. She quickly opened her mouth against his and brought her hands up so that they rested on top of his. Scorpius could feel that Rose was shaking, but he was trying to reassure her that things between them would be okay. Rose whimpered softly into Scorpius's mouth before she pulled away, and he bent his head down to rest his forehead against hers. Then, without saying anything, he intertwined his fingers with hers once again and led her out of the castle.

As they held hands and strolled across the grounds in silence, Rose tried to embrace this moment. This was probably the last moment they would have together before everything changed, and she was trying to remember how everything was between them before that happened. Scorpius started talking to Rose about something that had happened to him earlier that day, but she was only vaguely listening. She was just staring at him intently and lovingly as he spoke.

When they got to their favorite spot, Scorpius conjured a blanket and flattened it on the ground for each of them to sit. After Rose sat down and leaned back on her hands, Scorpius sat down next to her in a similar position.

Scorpius inhaled deeply. "It's a beautiful day," he said, looking out at the lake. Rose nodded and sighed. "Baby, are you sure you're okay?" Scorpius turned to her. Rose looked at him.

"I'm fine," Rose said with a somewhat forced smile. "I just want to enjoy today," she said as she shifted her body and laid her head in Scorpius's lap. Scorpius ran his hands through Rose's hair, and they sat like that in silence for a while. Scorpius thought of how beautiful Rose looked with the sun splashing against her skin and making her hair shine. He could tell that she had been crying, but he decided not to press the issue. He did not want to make her any more upset about their separation than she already was. He was not looking forward to the separation either, but he knew they would be fine. It would be hard at first, but they would get through it.

As Rose laid on Scorpius's lap, she could feel the tears bubbling to the surface again, but she held them at bay. She was crying mostly at the unfairness of everything. It felt to her that just when things between her and Scorpius became perfect, everything had to change, and she was not ready. She knew that change was inevitable, and usually she embraced change, but now, she cursed it.

"So, I'll be at your place on Tuesday afternoon for lunch with your parents, and I'll spend of the rest of the day over there with you," Scorpius interrupted Rose's thoughts. "And like I told you, my father is going to set me up in an apartment in London until I can get a place on my own. We're actually going to look at it on Wednesday, so why don't you just come back to the Manor with me on Tuesday, and you can spend the night with me, and then we can go look at the apartment together with my father the next day," Scorpius offered.

"That sounds nice," Rose said in the cheeriest voice she could muster.

"Do you think your parents will like me?" Scorpius asked.

Rose laughed lightly and looked up at him. "Well, other than that dark hair you inherited from your mother, you look identical to your father, so it might be hard for them to separate you from him—for my dad at least."

Scorpius nodded and smiled. "Well, they know my dad isn't like that anymore, right?"

"Oh, yeah," Rose said. "My mum and my Uncle Harry are both convinced that your dad isn't bad as my dad makes him out to be, but my dad is still convinced that your father still harbors his old tendencies. Uncle Harry says he never really subscribed fully to all of that anyway, at least when he realized what it really meant, so he gives him the benefit of the doubt, and my mum agrees, but my dad isn't convinced." Scorpius sighed. "It will be okay, though." Rose reached up and brushed Scorpius's cheek softly and then looked toward the lake.

They slipped into silence and stayed that way for a while. Rose watched as several other couples walked along the grounds hand in hand, and several other students were playing with Frisbees and other things in the June sunlight. Rose smiled at how carefree they were. Classes had ended, so now all people had to do was spend time with their friends and partners before they left for the summer holiday. Rose thought she spotted Albus and Poppy on the opposite side of the lake, and she sighed.

Instead of watching the other people out on the grounds, Scorpius watched Rose. He watched as her mouth curved into a small smile as she watched the other people playing and laughing on the grounds, and smiled in spite of himself. As he looked at her, he thought about how perfect his moment was.

"Rose, will you marry me?"

Rose snapped her head over and looked at Scorpius. "W-what?" she spluttered.

Scorpius smiled widely and suddenly became giddy. "I'm so in love with you, Rose, and I know that will never change… I want to marry you."

Rose sat up and turned her back to Scorpius. Then, suddenly, she burst into tears. She pulled her knees up to her chest and sobbed into her knees. Scorpius moved next to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. He reached over and caressed her arm with his free hand.

"Hey, hey, hey," Scorpius said softly. "Shh…" he said. He reached up and rubbed her head, but Rose only sobbed even harder. Scorpius smiled sadly. "We don't have to get married, Rose, I'm sorry… I didn't mean to upset you."

"N-no, it's n-not you… It's n-not that… " Rose sobbed into her knees. "You… Y-you're p-perfect." She lifted her head up and stared at Scorpius with teary eyes. Scorpius reached over and wiped away one of her tears, and Rose grabbed his hand and put it in her own. "Scorpius, I'm pregnant." Shock and dawning spread across Scorpius's face. He released Rose and scooted slightly back on their blanket. His mouth was open and his eyes were wide, but he did not say anything. Rose turned around and sat on her knees, facing Scorpius. "Look, I'm not expecting anything from you. I still w-want you to get a job and play Quidditch if you want to. I know that's your d-dream." The tears were no longer falling, but she was still sobbing lightly. "I already talked to McGonagall, and she said I could take next year off from Hogwarts, and come back the following year to finish my education. I haven't told my p-parents, and I don't know how they're going to take it… But if they help me, you can still do whatever you want and see me and the baby whenever you can… I know this really complicates things, but I still love you, and I still w-want us to work, so…" Her voice drifted off and she looked at the ground.

Scorpius was in a complete state of shock, but suddenly, he burst into a fit of laughter. Rose looked up at him, completely confused. Scorpius continued to laugh until his sides started to hurt.

"Scorpius—"

Scorpius stood up quickly and pulled Rose up with him. "We're going to have a baby, Rose!" he said excitedly as he danced around on their blanket with her hands in his. Rose's mouth dropped open and she simply stared at him before she started to laugh and cry at the same time. They each jumped up and down and danced around on their blanket, and then Scorpius pulled Rose to him and wrapped his arms around her waist. "We're going to have a baby," he said quietly before he brought his mouth down to hers and kissed her. Rose sighed softly and wrapped her arms around his neck. Her heart leapt and her stomach did a million flip-flops as she kissed him. Rose always had butterflies in her stomach when she kissed Scorpius, but now her butterflies had multiplied one hundredfold. She had certainly had not expected Scorpius to react this way, but she was so surprised and happy that he had.

"I didn't think you would be so excited," Rose said after pulling her mouth away from his.

Scorpius shrugged and laughed. "Well, sure, it's happening sooner than we both planned, but who cares? We'll make it work, and… Ah!" he yelled, pulled Rose into his arms, and spun her around. "I was ready to start my life with you already. I want to marry you, and I can't wait to have this baby." Scorpius put her back on the ground and brought both of his hands to her stomach. She put her hands on each of his biceps and looked down at his hands.

Rose felt as if she had been on an emotional rollercoaster in just the past few minutes. Only moments ago, Rose had been distraught and terrified thinking about how Scorpius would react when she told him. After she told him, her mood had quickly lifted to sheer elation, and now as she watched his hands caress her stomach, she slipped a bit into worry.

"I don't know how I'm going to tell my parents," Rose said quietly.

Scorpius kept his hands on her stomach but looked at her. "Man, this really isn't going to help my chances of getting them to like me." Rose laughed and pulled Scorpius into a tight embrace.


	15. Wave to Mommy

_Thank you so much to everyone who read my story. This is the final chapter, and I hope that everyone enjoys it. I have enjoyed writing for all of you and hearing your feedback. It's been a pleasure. Be sure to check out my other stories if you're interested. There might be a short spin-off of this story involving Hermione and Draco-you'll see how I set it up in this chapter. Anyway, thanks again, and I hope to hear from all of you again soon! _

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><p><strong>Chapter 15: Wave to Mommy<strong>

"Okay, we can do this." Scorpius held Rose's hand tightly before they walked into her family's sitting room. She had just gotten done with lunch with Scorpius and her parents, and things had gone fairly well—at least, better than Rose had expected. One particular episode had put Rose on edge, but Scorpius had managed to get through it unscathed. Scorpius had made a joke about Rose going through a rebellious phase, and while her mother had laughed lightly, her father had not been at all amused.

"_Yes, some would call it rebellious," he began. "Others would call it stupid and potentially dangerous." Hermione shot her husband a warning look, and Rose said, "Dad!" But Scorpius had held his ground._

"_Dangerous, sir?" he asked simply._

"_Don't think we've forgotten who your family is, Scorpius," Ron said in a threatening tone. "Your grandfather was a Death Eater. Your father was a Death Eater. Your grandmother, your great aunt, and countless other members of your family were Death Eaters," Ron continued on and narrowed his eyes. "My wife and my brother-in-law may have forgiven and forgotten, but I'll never forget that my brother is dead because of the likes of people like your family."_

_Rose clenched her jaw and for a moment, she thought Scorpius would simply give in, but after a few seconds, he spoke quietly. _

"_With all due respect, Mr. Weasley, I am not my family, and we are not our mistakes."_

_Scorpius said nothing more than that one sentence, and Ron said nothing else. Rose contained a smile, and Hermione nodded. After that, her father made no more snide comments about the Malfoys or about anything else regarding his past experiences with the old family. Scorpius may have been able to hold his ground, but his heart was racing, and while Ron held his tongue after that, his hands were trembling slightly with anger. He would never forgive or forget, but for his daughter, Ron would try his hardest to accept Scorpius while he was still in his daughter's life. _

After lunch, her parents had retreated to the other room, and Scorpius had given Rose a pep talk to prepare her to tell her parents about her condition and their future plans.

Rose and Scorpius walked into the sitting room, and Ron and Hermione Weasley both stopped talking immediately and looked up at them. It was clear to both Scorpius and Rose that the other couple had just been talking about the two of them. Rose stood in front of her parents with her feet planted to the ground. She decided to just say it. She knew that if she didn't just get it out that she would never be able to. Rose took a deep breath before she said, "Mom. Dad. Scorpius and I are getting married… and I'm pregnant." Ron dropped the glass he had been holding and it shattered on the ground. Hermione fainted.

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><p><em>One year and five months later<em>

"Oh, look who it is, Kennie. Wave to mommy!"

Scorpius Malfoy held his daughter, Kendra, in his arms on Platform 9 ¾ at King's Cross Station. He held up her hand and waved it in the direction of Rose Weasley-Malfoy, who was stepping off of the Hogwarts Express. When Rose spotted them, she screamed and covered her mouth before she ran over to them. As soon as she reached them, she took Kendra out of Scorpius's arms and swung her nine month old baby around above her head. Kendra laughed and screamed in delight in her mother's arms. Rose brought Kendra back down as she leaned in to kiss her husband.

"Merlin, I have missed you both so much," Rose said as Scorpius wrapped an arm around her. Rose nuzzled Kendra and held her closer as Scorpius held them both tightly. The crisp December air was biting at all their faces as the small family held each other at the beginning of Rose's winter holiday time off from her seventh and final year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. For the past several months, Rose had been away at school finishing out her final year at Hogwarts, and during this time, she had been separated from her husband and child. Rose had missed them desperately, and she was not sure how she would be able to say goodbye at the end of the holidays. Now, however, she could not think about that. All she could think of how Scorpius's arms felt around her and how sweet the sound of her daughter's laughter sounded in her ears.

"You better get that baby out of the cold," Rose heard a voice say happily behind her. When Rose turned around she saw her mother and father standing behind her smiling. It had taken some coaxing and some getting used to, but Ron and Hermione had finally warmed to the idea of Rose marrying Scorpius. And when the baby had been born, all doubt had flown from their minds the moment they had seen their granddaughter's face.

Hermione walked closer and scooped Kendra out of Rose's arms, and Rose hugged her father. "Hi, Rosie," he said into her hair as they hugged. Despite the fights they had gotten into over the last year and half, it still felt good to be held in her father's arms. After they pulled out of the hug, Ron and Scorpius shook hands and exchanged pleasantries.

"Oh, I can never get enough of Kennie's beautiful face," Hermione said as she held Kendra in her arms and laid several kisses on her cheeks. Ron smiled and tickled Kendra playfully as Hermione held her and Kendra screamed with laughter. Ron kissed Kendra on the forehead right before her brother Hugo, her cousins, and her Aunt Ginny and Uncle Harry walked over to them. After each of them kissed, hugged, and took turns holding Kendra, a voice sounded behind them.

"Let me hold my granddaughter." Everyone turned around and faced Draco Malfoy, who was standing slightly behind them. Scorpius whispered to Rose that Draco had driven Scorpius and Kendra to King's Cross, and Rose nodded and smiled happily. Draco smiled as Lily placed Kendra in his arms. "Man she's beautiful," he whispered as he looked at her. When he finally looked up from her he nodded towards Harry, Ron, and Hermione. He extended a hand to Harry and Ron, and while Ron was still slightly cold to Draco, he did take his hand with an element of warmth. Then he leaned in and placed a kiss on Hermione's cheek.

Everyone took a few minutes to catch up, and then Rose and Scorpius announced that they needed to be getting Kendra home. Before Draco, Rose, Scorpius, and Kendra walked away, Hermione asked, "You'll be joining us for dinner on Christmas won't you Draco?" Draco had recently divorced his wife Astoria, and Rose had asked her mother to invite Draco to Christmas so that Scorpius would not have to leave his father alone. Draco had been hesitant about agreeing to join them when Hermione had first invited him, but after some convincing on behalf of Rose and Scorpius, Draco had finally agreed. Now, Hermione was just giving him a friendly reminder of her invitation.

"I wouldn't miss it," Draco said with a smile.

When everyone said their goodbyes and Draco finally took them home, Rose and Scorpius were finally able to relax in their London apartment after putting Kendra down for a nap. Rose curled up and laid her head on Scorpius's lap.

"I'm never going to want to go back," Rose said. She sighed contentedly.

"Well, we're not going to want you to go back," Scorpius said.

"I love you, Scorpius."

"I love you, too, Rose. Now and forever."


End file.
